The Last One
by ViridianK
Summary: "You will be the last one Piers." Will Captain Redfield's words hold true?
1. Chapter 1: Reemergence

Chapter 1: Reemergence

"What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal" ~Albert Pike

_"__Piers! Piers! Open this damn door! PIIIIERRSSS!"_

~Piers

This was the last thing he remembers hearing from his captain before he sent him off to the surface from that damned underwater tomb. He definitely remembered blasting that giant B.O.W. to bits, but what came next he only remembered bits and pieces of after he had realized what was on his back.

He had a black case with him, and in it was something that utterly shocked him but was completely thankful for it. Right after he had sent his captain off into the water and blasted that B.O.W. to bits he noticed something that sat right below where the escape pod had been, it was concealed under an unopened hatch that was pretty obvious but wasn't noticeable until there was no pod in it. He opened the hatch and inside found a black case with a strap on it, and the words on it were big and clear **_"Emergency Virus Suppression" _**he grabbed the case and secured it to himself so he would not lose it if he survived, optimistic of what this case could mean, he hoped he would remember enough to get it to someone that could take it to the B.S.A.A. or he would die trying.

Even before he had sent the Captain off in the escape pod, when he was still outside of it, Piers could hear the B.O.W. banging around the underwater facility, trying to escape. He knew there would be no hope if that thing managed to get to them while they were in the escape pod. He made his mind up the moment his Captain reached down to pull him up; he would **not** be leaving with him, no matter how hard he tried to take Piers with him. After strapping on the case Piers got out of the facility as fast as he could and was ready to let his electricity loose on the damned beast. Once he saw the beast take hold of the escape pod he let his arm shoot forth, his rage flowing through it adding to how much he was going to strike the beast with, _*Damned B.O.W. this is cause of you! If you had taken me and left the Captain alone none of this would be happening!*_With one lance of lightning, Piers effectively ended the B.O.W., splitting it into thousands of pieces, its blood turning the dark water even darker than before.

Piers then swam to the surface, hoping to see if the Captain was safe. He saw him, standing in his opened escape pod, scanning the waters to see if Piers would ever come up. _*Why can't he understand that I'm a monster now? I'm not worth saving… the B.S.A.A. needs him more than it needs me.* _Piers at least had to give the Captain some hope, before that helicopter got to the escape pod Piers dove back under the water, taking off his scarf, and let it float up to where his Captain was. He got back to the surface in time to see his Captain grab the scarf out of the water and he said the words, **"You are the last one Piers, nobody else will die under my command. But I will be damned if I let this war consume the world."**

He let those words sink in, but the helicopter was getting closer so Piers dove beneath the waves until the copter had taken the Captain and left. He climbed into the escape pod and decided to check on the case he had taken from that facility, it was fairly big, it took him a while to figure out how to get it into the pod and still be able to open it completely, he settled for standing the case straight up and opening it like a book, although the case was a little taller than he was, but what he found inside could mean the end of the Bio Terror wars that have been ravaging the world. There were so many syringes in the case, each one of them no longer than one of the fingers on Piers' left hand. There were instructions for the syringes in the case as well, each with many different directions and circumstances, but Piers found the paper of the one that most pertained to him at the moment, the C-Virus.

**"****This Virus Suppressor is for use in personnel that have been injected with the C-Virus. There are many circumstances or situations on where or how you must inject the Suppressor. They are as follows-"**

**1)****If infected and subject has no abnormal mutations, simply inject the Suppressor anywhere accessible.**

**2)****If injected into an injured portion of the body to regain its use, inject the Suppressor directly into the portion of the body for its maximum effect, see step 4 for further information regarding this injection.**

**3)****If subject has mutations that alter the body in severe ways, i.e.) Extra limbs/ increased or decreased size use five syringes to suppress the virus to bring the subject back to a human form.**

**4)****If subject has taken on a mutation that greatly increases abilities or any new mutation and still has a human form, directly inject the syringe after the expense of a large amount of bio-energy, Note that if being used on a specific portion of the body it should appear to the subject that it has somewhat gained a more human form to it before injecting the syringe.**

Piers looked down at his arm, sure enough it did not look as bad as it had when he first injected himself with the virus, it was smaller, and did not have so much of a clawed look to it, he could even see the form of a hand returning to his arm. He decided to push it a little more, and stored up as much energy as he could muster and let his arm loose to shoot into the sky, it worked, but a little too well, Piers almost passed out from the amount of energy he used shooting his arm, but he figured now was a better time than ever to use the syringe.

~During the use of the syringe (after Piers shot lightning into the sky)

Chris was looking out of the helicopter, back towards the escape pod that was now fading into the distance, **_*You are the last one Piers, I swear nobody else is going to die under my command like you men did.* _**Chris and some of the other soldiers saw what seemed to be a huge arc of lightning going to the sky from the escape pod. The soldiers started murmuring to themselves _"What in the hell was that?! Did that just come from the __**water?!**__" _Chris looked to the driver "Turn this thing around NOW!" "Sir, we need to get out of here, we need to get back to help" "Turn around NOW there is only one thing I know that could have made that lightning and I will be damned if I leave here without knowing if it really is who I think it is." Reluctantly, the helicopter pilot turned it around to get to the escape pod.

~Piers

After Piers used the syringe he noticed the helicopter coming back around, heading straight for the escape pod _*Damn it Captain, don't come looking for me! Get away from here already!*_ Piers dove into the water, making sure that he brought the case with him, and hid until they had left, he was surprised how easy it was to control his movement in the water, and that the fact he was actually able to breathe underwater. The other soldiers got back onto the helicopter, before hopping back on Chris said "I don't care what happened to you Piers, you **WILL** be the last."

After they left Piers decided to swim in the direction the helicopter had gone. He reached land after several hours of swimming and set about trying to hide himself among the local population, stealth would be his best friend and his only friend for a long time to come. Walking around the place he found that the B.S.A.A. and local military had sealed off a good portion of the surrounding area from the victims of the bio-terror weapons. He went into a section that people had donated clothing for survivors to wear; Piers grabbed a hat, coat, pants, scarf, and sunglasses so he could hide as much of himself as he could. He happened upon the area that the B.S.A.A. were using to ship people out of this hell hole. He walked up to one of the soldiers to see if he could get out of here when the soldier halted him with his weapon raised. "What do you want here?"

Piers then pointed to his case and said to the soldier, "I have something the B.S.A.A. might want to use in this war." The soldier looked at him skeptically, "Why should we believe this is anything that could help us?" "Because this case I have might be the quickest way to finding a cure for every strain of this virus." The soldier looked at him wide eyed, gawking at him, trying to process the fact that someone was standing in front of him possibly offering an opportunity to the end of the Bio-Terror war that was currently engulfing the planet. The soldier got him on the next flight out of there.

It would be six months after arriving in the United States that Piers would make his first appearance near the B.S.A.A. locations or any of its operatives. During that time Piers collected his thoughts and tried to learn more about the syringes he was using to keep the virus suppressed. Once he had found a quiet place to settle down in for a while he opened up the case to read more of the notes that were in the case, hoping to find out some more about these "Suppressors", on a note in the middle of the case was one simple instruction: **All victims using syringes must receive a dose at one month intervals minimum before small signs of the virus will start to reoccur, not taking a dose for more than two months may revert back to being taken over by the virus and the virus will have had a chance to develop an immunity to the Suppressor. **

Piers looked in the case and counted the syringes, there was thirty syringes for each virus that was sitting inside of this case, minus the one he had already used on himself almost a week earlier. Piers figured there was nothing more he could learn about these things right now and decided to turn on the TV and see if there was anything on the news about the war.

_"__News channel 12 with a special interview for you guys tonight, we are going to be able to speak to Chris Redfield for the first time after his mission in China that left him the last remaining member of his team"_ Piers was surprised at this, he never took the Captain for the kind of person to talk to the news about things like this. This would definitely be something Piers wanted to see, he wanted to see if the Captain still remembered any of them.

After a about half an hour the interview started and Piers watched it intensely from where he sat. (_Italicized will be the interviewer, _**bold will be Chris****_)_** _"So, tell us Captain, what happened to your team in China?" _**"They all died while we were pursuing a woman carrying the Virus with her… what happened to them I would rather not say, but they were good soldiers." **_"Thank you Captain, another question, what happened in the underwater facility, that left you the sole remaining member of your team?"_ **"That… is complicated, I'm not going to go into detail, but I will tell you the words that I said shortly after reaching the surface of the water." **Chris took a deep breath for a moment, and his eyes had a faraway look in them, not seeming to be looking at anyone or anything anymore, and he was staring directly into the camera. **"The one soldier that I had with me that didn't make it… I made a vow he would be the last one to die under my command. Nobody else would die in this war following my lead, that I would carry on Alpha Team's missions on my own." ** Piers didn't hear the rest of the interview, he only sat there in silence, registering the words that his Captain had just said. _*He never forgot about us, not once did he forget what happened to his team…. And now he's the only one carrying on our mission….*_

On the day Piers would need to take the sixth syringe he decided it was time to make an appearance at the North American branch of the B.S.A.A. he walked up to the entrance and waited for a guard to come out. "What is your business here? Civilians aren't allowed inside." Piers looked at him, and patted the huge case he still had with him, "I think you can make an… exception this time, this is something your researchers may want to see." The soldier didn't trust this guy, the only thing he could see was the sunglasses he was wearing, and everything else was hidden under heavy clothing. "Prove what you have is worth us looking into before I even take you inside." Piers thought for a moment, "I won't show you yet, but I will show you something to be cautious of, and then take me to your researchers and I will show you what I have that will interest the B.S.A.A." The soldier nodded at him slowly, "Nice and easy now bud." Piers moved his left arm over to his right, and moved part of his clothing away so that the soldier could see some slight discoloration and deformities in it. The soldier raised his weapon and looked Piers straight in the face, "You make a single move outside what anyone tells you, or against anyone, and you're dead."

Piers nodded at him, "Let us go then, shall we soldier?" The soldier led him to the researcher's area and took him inside. There was a woman sitting at a desk eying them as they walked up to her, "What do we have here today, Mark?" "Someone who says he has something we might be interested in, Maria." The woman at the desk, Maria, eyeballed Piers, "And just what may you have for us today, Sir?" Piers set the large case on the desk, "Something that was recovered almost six months ago in a mission that left a man the sole member of his team, everything you need to know about what is in this case is inside, but perhaps you might want to see its effects first hand." She nodded, Piers opened the case, and took out another of the syringes he had been using, and injected himself with it. As the woman and soldier watched, his arm grew smaller, more to a human size, lost all of its deformities, and the only thing visibly remaining was a slight discoloration in the arm, anything else they had seen was completely gone.

The soldier and woman stood there gawking at him, they could not believe their luck! This strange man, whoever he was, might have just delivered them the cure for so many viruses that are being used by bio-terrorists everywhere! "I thought you might be interested in seeing the effects of what I have here, and if you wish to know anything about where this was obtained, you need only speak to the man who was on that mission six months ago, he will only be able to tell you pieces though, I'm afraid."

Piers turned to walk out when someone grabbed his shoulder from behind, he recognized the voice, and almost passed out from fear, he wasn't expecting to see him here again, "And just what do you know about what happened six months ago?" Piers turned around, his face still completely hidden behind his clothing, and looked at the Captain in the eyes and said to him, "Remember the words you said six months ago, Captain. Then listen to these words now, **the last one never died.**" With that, Piers turned around and hurried out of the B.S.A.A. complex, trying to get as far away as he could from the place, before anyone actually figured out who he was.

Chris just stood there, shocked, and ended up dropping the mug of coffee that he had been holding. The soldier and woman at the desk both looked at him, "Are you okay, sir?" Said the soldier, Mark. Chris turned around and said, "Nothing… just… something that he said… I never thought those words would leave the ocean where I was found…. That man…. He is a strange one…. So what is in the case he brought you guys?" They all then looked inside of the case, Maria said "Well, it seems he might have brought us something that could cure or even stop some of the viruses." Chris' eyes went wide, he sprinted out of the building to try and find the man that had just delivered this case.

Chris found him just after he exited the base, walking on the side of the road, heading off to who knows where. Chris caught up to him and stopped him, "Those words you said back there, how do you know them?" The man turned, and looked him in the eyes, "First before I say anything, you will **NOT** follow me from here, but I will simply tell you again. **The last one never died.** Remember the words you said so long ago and as I said before, listen to what I am saying now." Chris stood there, listening to the man and not trying to follow him, watching as he faded into the distance and mumbled to himself "The last one never died… but it couldn't be… that whole place exploded… but yet…." Chris trailed off in thought, not wanting to hope but could only believe the evidence his own eyes were showing him.


	2. Chapter 2: Moving Forward

Chapter 2: Moving Forward

"You can close your eyes to reality but not to memories." ~Stanislaw Jerzy lec

~Chris

Returning to the B.S.A.A. complex Chris went back inside to speak to Mark and Maria. Mark turned towards the Captain, "Find anything out, Sir?" "Yeah, but I'm still not sure of what to think about all of this. Let's take a look at that case now, shall we?" Maria and Mark both nodded, and looked down again at the case. What they found inside was one of the biggest breakthroughs they could ever have against the viruses, and it was delivered to their front door step. "Captain, what do you reckon happened to the syringes for this Virus? All of the other ones have thirty, but this one only has ten in it." "Hmm, I'm not sure; do you see anything around in there?" The soldier carefully took the ten syringes out and carefully set them on desk next to the case, and inside he found a note. "You might want to read this, Captain."

Chris took the paper from the soldier and read what was on it. On the front of it the note simply just read, *For Captain Redfield.* Chris stuck the note in his pocket, "I'll read this later, you guys better get that stuff down to the lab so we can figure out what to do with it." Maria and Mark both nodded, and packed everything back up and took the case down to the scientists, leaving Captain Redfield alone. When there was nobody nearby, Chris took out the note, opened it, and read what was on the inside, _*If you still have doubts, then visit the place where the past, present, and future can all meet. Wait until you see me, return every day that I am not there until I am.*_ *If you think for a minute that I would waste a chance to figure out if this is really you….* the Captain then trailed off in thought.

~Piers

**"****The last one never died.** Remember the words you said so long ago and as I said before, listen to what I am saying now." Piers then turned around and walked away from his former Captain. He took the road for a few hours, ending up back in the apartment he was staying in. He started voicing his thoughts out loud, in an effort to pass the time and give his thoughts some form of vocalization, "I wonder if the Captain found the note… Might need to wait a few days if he hasn't… or maybe just waiting a few days in general before I actually speak to him…" Piers started going through channels on his TV when he could not figure out what else to do. He happened on one that was playing recruitment commercial for the B.S.A.A. and could do nothing but watch and listen to the thing, it was a link to something he used to be. "We need strong people in the fight against Bio-Terrorism. We need YOU. Only the best of the best can protect the world from Bio-Terrorism. Do you have what it takes, Soldier?" Piers trailed off in thought, remembering the day he joined the B.S.A.A…. "NIVANS!" "Sir!" "Show these rookies how it's done. I want you to hit that target from right here" "Sir yes sir!" Piers took out his rifle and took his aim, he nailed his target dead on from almost five hundred meters away, and did it all in less than three seconds. The other recruits looked at him, amazed at how quickly he could take out his rifle and shoot his target from so far away.

"Alright men listen up, today we are going to put you girls through some tests to see if you can call yourselves members of the B.S.A.A. so you better keep your game on top of it." "Sir yes sir!" they all shouted in unison, saluting the officer standing before them. They went through testing for several hours, Piers always coming out on top, especially where marksmanship and aiming was concerned. "Alright maggots, that's enough training for today. You are dismissed to your barracks. Nivans, stay here, I need to have a word with you, soldier." _"Sir? Did I do something wrong?"_ "No, on the contrary, I have someone who wants to see you." The officer took him to a tent about five minutes away, "He is waiting for you inside, Nivans." Piers stepped inside, and so began the moment that would change the rest of his life.

"Good evening, I'm Chris Redfield, and I have something I think you might be interested in." Piers saluted Chris, "What is it, Sir?" Chris dismissed the officer that was still standing inside of the tent. "Okay you can cut the Sir crap, kid. I had that officer bring you in here for a reason." "Sir?" "I've been watching your testing all day, and I have to say that I am impressed with your marksmanship abilities." "Thank you, Sir." "Seriously kid, stop calling me _Sir_ just call me Chris, although I hope in a few minutes even that might change." "What do you mean, Chris?" "See, I have been looking for a recruit that could fill a spot, and might live up to be something great for the B.S.A.A. and I think that recruit is you. What would you say to joining me as my second in command of Alpha Team?" Piers raised his eyes at that, "You mean, you want me to join Alpha Team?" "Not just join it kid, join it as my second in command." "What do I need to do to join?" "Just say a word, and I am sure you know what that word is." Piers didn't even need to think, "Yes, Captain." "Good. Now, what do you say we go back to B.S.A.A. headquarters and get you equipped and ready to go for missions eh?" "Yes Captain!"

That was the day that changed the rest of Piers' life. He was serving as Alpha Teams second in command to Chris Redfield in the war on Bio-Terrorism. It was almost morning now, so Piers decided to go down to where he would watch Chris to see if he ever showed up. When Piers got there it was very early in the morning, about four or five A.M. and it was pretty dark. He entered a cemetery for the fallen of the B.S.A.A.. Each soldier buried with his squad members. He walked over to the section for Alpha Team; all of their friends from Edonia were here. The memory of them turning into B.O.W.s still haunted Piers, remembering that woman, Ada Wong, throwing that C-Virus grenade into the room, and Finn reaching out to the Captain, trying to get away from it all. Piers walked over and hid behind a tree and waited to see if the Captain would arrive. He arrived about an hour and a half later. What he was carrying surprised Piers, _*He has my scarf…*_ Piers watched as Chris walked over to a grave that was marked as his, he hung the scarf on top of the grave. "I know you're here, I'm just returning what I found a long time ago." After that Chris walked out of the cemetery.

Walking over to examine his own grave, Piers noticed what it said, _*To give anything, sacrificing your best, was to sacrifice for others. Actions were done to ensure survival of others. Let this life not be sacrificed in vain.*_ Piers wondered who had come up with that to put on his grave stone. He then picked up his scarf from his grave stone, the dark green fabric reminding him of better and happier times before the reality of the war took its toll on his team.

~Chris

_*If you still have doubts, then visit the place where the past, present, and future can all meet. Wait until you see me, return every day that I am not there until I am.* _*There's only one place that could be….* Chris was surprised this man even knew of the graveyard. Only the B.S.A.A. knew anything of it and not even everyone that was a member of the North American branch knew of the cemetery. It was where they buried teams that died together in combat, in sacrifice for the rest of the world in the war on Bio-Terrorism. Chris went to his quarters, and he grabbed one of the items he still had from his dead team members, he grabbed Piers' scarf. He went to the cemetery early in the morning, and he draped it over Piers' gravestone. He knew someone was there so he told them, without trying to search for where they might be, "I know you're here, I'm just returning what I found a long time ago." Chris then left the graveyard, following the letter and will keep returning until he has seen who he is looking for.

~Piers

Three days had gone by before Piers had decided to show himself on the fourth day. Chris had been returning to the cemetery several times a day for the past three, and Piers had decided he should show himself on the fourth day. Chris came earlier than usual that morning; it was about four A.M. Piers was standing by his own grave stone when Chris came into the cemetery. "So are you finally going to tell me what all of this is about?" "Good morning, Chris, you're early today, aren't you?" "Had a feeling today would be different, and I guess I was right, wasn't I?" "In that respect, you are correct, Captain. So, do you know who I am yet?" "I have suspicions, but why don't you tell me yourself?"

"Where to begin… first off, you already know about the scarf, I let that float up to where you were to hopefully give you some kind of clue that I had not been killed in the explosion, and I do remember that you saw the lightning that I shot off, which is why the helicopter had turned around, I am guessing?" Chris nodded, remembering the lightning he saw shoot from near the escape pod all those months ago, lighting up the sky and turning the clouds a dark grey color, almost starting a storm at sea. "Other than that, it was pretty much just getting a ride to the States and then just waiting out my time, trying to decide when the right time it would be to come back. Do you remember how long it has been Captain?" "Yes, six months." "Good, do you remember how long it took for us to find you?" "Si-…" Chris trailed off realizing that Piers had waited just as long as it had taken them to find him. Six months, that's how long Piers had waited to show the world that he was not even dead.

"So, Captain, do you have any other questions?" "Yeah… where did you find that case?" "Oh, that was almost pure luck when I think back on it, I had just sent your escape pod off, and I noticed a case out of the corner of my eye, it was huge, and the only words on it were "Emergency Virus Suppression" I knew it might help at some point so I strapped it on as quickly as I could. I was able to hear that B.O.W. banging around trying to get out, that is why I sent you off alone Captain. I knew if that thing got to us in the water, neither of us would still be alive to even be standing here right now, let alone last another ten seconds back then to get to the surface. After that I swam up to the surface and saw you searching the water from your escape pod, I didn't want you to see me because then I knew you would try to get me to come with you, and I still did not know what kind of control I had over the virus that was slowly mutating me. The lightning you saw? That was part of using the Virus Suppressors, the instructions that came with the particular one I needed said that using off an extreme amount of bio-energy would help the suppressor work, and it did work for sure, but I nearly passed out with the amount of energy I used up."

"So then, if you have had this kind of control, and the virus has been suppressed for this long, why haven't you shown yourself before, and why are you always covered up?" "Well, I'm covered up because I don't want people to see me, suppressed or not, not every sign of the virus is actually gone." Piers then took off the scarf and hat that he had on and rolled up the sleeve on his right arm. Chris then saw what he meant, where Chris had once seen the side effects of the virus, Piers' mutated arm and it slowly working up his body, was a sickly greenish grey color, going from his arm up to his face, and his eye was a pure black color, looking like a piece of coal. "Can you see out of that eye, Piers?" "Yes, Captain, although it is a pretty strange way to see, it sort of adapts to the lighting of the area, at night, or when it is very dark like it is now, it turns a pure black color and I can see better with that eye than if you improved a regular humans eye by three hundred percent, a sort of natural night vision, if you would want to call it that. Then during the day time, to anyone that would happen to see it, I would look like I am blind in one eye, it turns pure white, but it has extremely acute sight, you know the saying *It was so quiet you could hear a cockroach piss.*? Well, that is what this eye can do during the day, but thankfully, when I am in something such as a building; it looks just like a normal eye, except that it has a golden tinge to it."

"Why did I wait so long? Well, that is kind of hard to explain. I mean I have most of my memories from before the virus, very much so, but sometimes they can get clouded. The main thing was that I wanted to be sure that these so called *Virus Suppressors* actually worked, but the six months? I honestly could only guess that it was some subconscious thought that remained in my mind from back when we went searching for you and it took us six months to actually get to you and get you to come back to the B.S.A.A." "But, Piers, we had Jake Muller, he had antibodies that could fight the viruses, why didn't you come to the B.S.A.A.? We could have helped you." "I guess, but have those things actually cured anyone yet?" Chris bit his tongue, knowing all too well that nobody had yet been _cured_ of the C-Virus, or any virus for that matter.

"Well… no… but do you think those syringes might help?" "I'm not sure, it seems like a very heavy medication almost, for the viruses, I guess you could compare it to being knocked out during an operation, it works like it should and you never know what is going on. What's happened with Muller's blood?" "Well, we have given it to people infected with the C-Virus, but it doesn't seem to do much, so it seems that it only works on people that are not actually infected with the C-Virus, like a vaccination for the most part." "Hmm…" Piers tapped his chin thinking, "What if you guys tried having them work together? Medication like the suppressors and a sort of vaccine like Jake's antibodies might be just the thing to cure the C-Virus and if so greatly help the speed in finding a cure for the other ones as well."

"Not a bad idea Piers, I'll let the people at the B.S.A.A. know to start doing that and try it out, see what happens to it. One last question though, when are you coming back to the B.S.A.A.? It would be nice to have some company for once; I haven't had the courage to take on any new people since everything that happened with Edonia and China…" Piers walked over and clapped the captain on the shoulder, "Don't worry about that anymore Captain, that is all in the past. Just need to keep fighting to end the Bio-Terror wars so nothing like that ever happens again." Chris nodded at Piers, "So am I to understand that you are going to come back to the B.S.A.A. after so long?" Piers didn't even hesitate, "Wouldn't miss it for the world captain! I will be there later, with the rest of the syringes that I no doubt bet you guys are wondering where they went to.

"Alright Piers, I will see you later then." "See you later, Captain." Piers gave Chris a salute as he started to walk away, before leaving Chris turned around one more time to look at Piers, the sun was starting to rise and it was turning the sky dozens of shades of red orange and yellow, making it look like the sky was burning. He looked at Piers' eyes and noticed his right eye was turning from black to white, just like he said it would. "Captain, I'll be a few hours, don't worry too much though, I've actually been staying kind of far from here, so I might not get back until late in the day." "Alright Piers, I'm counting on you." Piers then grabbed his stuff and caught up with his Captain. They both shook hands at the exit to the cemetery before parting and walking down opposite ends of the road.


	3. Chapter 3: Boot Camp

Chapter 3: Boot camp

"It makes my heart sick when I remember all the good words and broken promises" ~ Chief Joseph

**Note: Every piece of dialogue is separated for the flashback.****  
**

Walking back down the road to where he was staying from the B.S.A.A.'s graveyard Piers started to get lost in his memories of when he first joined Alpha Team. He remembered the captain saying that he wanted him on his team because of how well he did in the training exercises but secretly he couldn't help but hope that it might have been something…. _More_.

Piers and Captain Redfield were on a flight back to B.S.A.A. headquarters and they talked somewhat on the way their about Piers past and his future ambitions.

_"__So, what made you want to join the B.S.A.A.?"_

_"__Well, my family has been in the military for a long time, and I thought that serving on a global scale would be something that would do a lot more than just serving my country. I mean, I love the States, I want to protect them, it's my home, but serving on a global scale, against bio-terrorism? I just want to try and make sure that those threats never reach my home."_

Chris took a moment to digest that answer; he was surprised at the amount of conviction present in this recruit. Not all of the recruits he had seen had that sort of conviction, mainly the officers that had been members of the B.S.A.A. for a long time only had that conviction left. Almost only known to the officers of the B.S.A.A. are the horrors of the bio terror wars. They have all had to endure countless loss and seeing countless lives of young soldiers still with lives ahead of them crushed and blown out like a candle flame before a wind against the B.O.W.s that they find all around the world.

_"__So, Nivans, when did you ever start up with sniping? I was pretty impressed at your accuracy, it is very hard pressed to find someone with your kind of aim wanting to join an organization like ours, and it takes a lot to stomach what you can see during the missions we do."_

_"__Well, Sir, I have been doing things with weapons like hunting and target practice since I was really young. My father was actually impressed with how well I took to being a marksman, and he got me as many lessons as he could with teachers and snipers to see if I could become something in the covert field. Him and my mother never stopped worrying about me, they were proud that I wanted to serve in a military kind of organization but they never wanted me on the front lines because they are afraid of losing me, mostly my mother though, my father knows the risks of this kind of work._

Chris was surprised at the amount of openness he was getting from this kid. He was so open to talk to him about things Chris really didn't know if he should pry about, he just wanted to try and get to know him better. Chris could not help but feel some kind of irrational pull towards this recruit. The kid seemed a lot different from the things the files had said about him, they said he was a very quiet and secluded individual, that he preferred to be a loner, although Chris thought that might show up once they set down and joined the rest of the team. Chris knew all too well the kind of welcoming party his soldiers can throw together for new recruits. Sometimes even, when his soldiers always took to their little "initiation" things they would do, they sometimes ended up scaring recruits away with how harsh they could get, especially Andy.

_"__Another question Nivans and this is kind of a curious one for when we land."_

_"__What's the question, Captain?"_

_"__OK so, the soldiers of Alpha, and well the soldiers of a lot of the teams that are stationed around the world, to try and keep moods light and keep the stress off, they like to… __**antagonize**__… and kind of mess with new recruits, although I don't really know if antagonize is really the right word for it. Well, I guess this is kind of a request more than a question, just don't take it too personal if they go kind of overboard OK?"_

_"__Yes Sir. I will try not to get too worked up about it, I've seen some of the stuff people have done in other military organizations, you might be surprised how much it would take to get me over the edge, I'm sure some of the stuff I have seen might leave your troops wishing they could be better." _Nivans ended that one with a slight wink at Chris.

_"__Alright then Nivans, just one last thing though. When we touch down, I'll introduce you to the team and I will leave you guys off on your own accord, just try not to go punching anyone's face in for me, OK? Some of the troops can get a little physical with the crap they like to throw around at each other. My advice anyway, if they do start that, you might want to try and stay away from it."  
_

_"__I will definitely try to, Captain."_

Chris smiled at Piers when he said that, probably realizing that this kid would definitely **_not_** want to mess up his chances after being able to join the B.S.A.A. and even starting off as a second in command to a leader of one of the Alpha Teams. The chopper set down about twenty minutes after the Captain and Nivans had finished their conversation. Piers hung back for a minute while the Captain walked off to talk to his troops about their new recruit. Piers could just barely hear them from the distance he was at and the noise of the helicopter, although that was beginning to subside as the blades slowly spun down to a stop.

_"__Alright boys, this is Piers Nivans. He will be your new second in command but he is still a rookie, so don't go to overboard on him now. Andy I'm looking at you."_

_"__Aw c'mon Captain! I only do it in fun! I swear I did __**not**__ mean to chase a couple of the recruits away!"_

_"__Yeah, yeah, whatever you say Andy."_ This was another soldier next to the one Chris addressed as Andy, and he playfully punched Andy in the shoulder.

_"__Shut up, Marco."_

_"__Settle down now boys, I'm going to retire for the night. Go ahead and get acquainted with Nivans and show him where you guys bunk at."_

_"__Sure thing Captain."_

The third soldier Piers saw seemed to have a tag on his gear, and as Piers got closer he could read the name *Carl* on it.

_"__Hey there, Nivans, welcome to the team."_

Nivans looked at a fourth soldier, who walked forward to shake his hand. He noticed a very prevalent limp in this guy's left leg, and when he looked the soldier in the eyes he had to control himself because of the deep sadness that he saw being carried around in this guy's eyes. His kindness seemed genuine enough, but Piers couldn't help but wonder what kind of burden was sitting on the guy's shoulders, making him look older and sadder way beyond even Captain Redfield's years at times.

_"__Hello there."_

Nivans replied then and shook his hand. When the soldier stepped back Piers caught a look at the tag he had on his gear and it simply just read **_"V"_** as if this was his actual name, Piers did not think it was and for some reason had an urge to know this soldier's actual name. Piers made a mental note to ask if the opportunity ever came up.

_"__Hey V," _said Andy, _"Why don't you go show the kid around and meet us back at the mess hall later for dinner?"_

_"__Sure, Andy…"_

Piers heard an underlying tone in "V's" voice but he wasn't sure what was in it, apprehension maybe? Anxiousness? Andy, Marco, and Carl all walked off then in the same direction talking amongst themselves and Piers for the life of himself was not able to figure out what they were saying.

_"__-vans… Hey, Nivans?"_

Piers was jolted from his thoughts when the soldier standing next to him was shaking his shoulder trying to get his attention. _"Piers?"_

_"__Huh, what?"_

_"__I said, are you ready to start the tour?"_

_"__Yeah, sure. Lead the way, V."_

_"__Heh, perceptive, aren't you? Not many people read the tags nor do many bother to actually use what is on mine, most just decide to use any name they decided to come up with. I've been used to having my name differ between persons for a very long time."_

_"__Well, maybe I can be one of those people that use that name, or whatever name you would prefer to be called?" _Piers kind of hoped that "V" got where he was going with this, but he had no such luck.

Piers could see a smile form its way onto "V's" face, although slightly, and for a moment he saw a slight lift to the heavy burden prominent in this soldier's eyes. V took him around the base and showed him most of the areas he would probably be using on a daily basis, training facilities, shooting ranges, library, bathhouse, mess hall, and the bunkhouse they would be using were some of the main ones Piers noticed because he figured they were some of the most needed facilities for him within this base.

_"__So, V, what made you want to start at the B.S.A.A.?"_

Piers was just trying to break the ice, because the two had an uneasy sort of silence for the past few minutes. Piers genuinely did want to get to know this soldier. He knew the officers here all had shares of sorrows and memories best left forgotten from the battlefields, but he never for once thought that one of these soldiers could look like they have seen just as much as any of the officers and perhaps even more.

_"__Well…"_ V started off with an uneasy tone in his voice, V sighed, _"Not many know but… I was around when some of these damned viruses first started, I've seen the horrors that have come around and I feel I need to put a stop to it. There are just some things… nobody should ever need to see them…" _

Piers noticed a far away and extremely pained expression present in V's eyes and decided not to press the subject any further for fear he might lose the one soldier he was starting to get something out of, because somehow, he didn't feel that the others would be as receptive as this guy was being. After a few more minutes of walking they arrived at the mess hall and went inside. V grabbed his food and sat down near the other soldiers and they all immediately began talking amongst each other, forgetting that they had a new recruit among them. Piers didn't let it bother him though, he grabbed his tray of food and sat in a more secluded area of the mess hall away from everyone else, but not so far that he couldn't tune into the conversation his team mates were having when it had drifted over to him.

_"__So, V, what do you make of the kid?"_ asked Andy.

_"__What do you think I make of the kid, Andy? What do you think I make about every recruit that comes through here?"_

_"__So not going to tell us as always, eh Brooder?" _jeered Marco, using one of the many names Piers assumed he had been given, and from the look on his face, it was obvious that V despised that name thoroughly.

_"__You know damn fucking well I won't tell you assholes shit."_

Piers was quite surprised at that outburst, when he was walking with V he didn't seem like the kind of person that would just burst out like that, although he had only been here for an hour and he obviously did not know much about his new team mates even though he wished that he did.

_"__C'mon sour man, lighten up, we just want to know what you think of this guy, he is the first one in a long time that was brought straight from recruiting to be second in command of a team, let alone __**any**__ kind of command._

V snarled somewhat at Carl for that remark, _"If you jackasses want to get to know him so much, get him over here and find out what he is like for yourselves instead of wasting your time half assing it out of me like you always try to do."_

Piers noticed an extremely slight nod at himself coming from V, one he would not have caught if he had not been paying such close attention to the exchange of words that was going on between these four soldiers. Then Andy turned around and looked directly at Piers, and he wasn't sure why, but he suddenly became very anxious at what was about to happen, he had a bad feeling in the back of his mind that something bad was about to happen whether to him or between the other soldiers he couldn't quite place that thought in his head.

_"__Hey Nivans! Get your ass over here kid!"_

Andy called him from across a few tables, a couple people looking at him after Andy yelled for him so loudly. Piers let go of a breath he hadn't realized he had be holding and grabbed his tray to walk over to where the rest of Alpha was sitting at.

_"__So Nivans,"_ asked Andy with Marco and Carl both looking at Piers expectantly, _"Anything you want to… get to know about your new squad mates?"_

Piers was a little suspicious when Andy asked him that, wondering if there was something that they were hiding.

_"__Um… not really anything I could think of at the moment..."_

_"__Why don't you tell him about that one girl from Sahara you tried to-"_

_"__Shut it Marco."_

_"__What's the matter, Andy? Cat got your tongue?" _sneered V.

_"__Oh really V? Why don't you tell the newbie here how you got that limp in your fucking leg then?!"_

What happened next was definitely not something Piers had expecting. V froze in place where he was, knife in his hand that he was about to use to cut some of the steak he had been eating. Piers was not sure what was going to happen, but he is positive this is what the bad feeling was that he was getting. V got up to leave, but not before jabbing the knife down into the table, barely even an inch from Andy's hand and leaving after replying to him with a repressive hint of malice in his voice. Andy took down a gulp of air, noting how close he had just come to needing to be in the infirmary.

_"__Don't you fucking go there you son of a bitch. If I could change what fucking happened I would. Say one more thing and you are going to regret you ever fucking found out what happened that day."_

Every single soldier sitting at that table was stunned into silence. After stabbing that knife into the table and showing Andy how pissed off he really was, V stalked off out of the mess hall and Piers was left with an even stronger sense of wanting to know what had happened, but knowing that it was obviously a topic that should not just be lightly touched or even approached if anything he just saw was any indication of what V could say.

_"__There you fucking go again Andy, when the fuck are you going to let up on the guy? Hasn't he been through enough already?"_

_"__Don't try to fucking lecture me Carl, we all know what happened and I thought the newbie deserved to know. Not everything should be kept a secret, recruits should be able to trust who the fuck is watching their back."_

Then Marco spoke up, _"The fuck do you mean *trust who the fuck is watching their back* has he __**EVER**__ given you a reason not to? One fuck up doesn't bring someone down to fucking over everyone else they even know! He's saved your ass my ass and everyone's asses more times than you can probably fucking count or even remember you shit brained jackass!"_

_"__That doesn't fucking change what happened and you know it Marco!"_

Piers needed to get out of their and breathe. He could see other people had started eying them once V had gotten up and left, some of them had even started to leave because of the anger in the air that was completely obvious as these guys kept going off at each other. Piers went down to the Alpha Team bunkhouse and grabbed his rifle he always kept with him. It had been a gift from his dad a couple years ago, and he couldn't help but keep it with him all the time, that and the fact it was one of the best rifles on the market didn't hurt either. He went down to one of the shooting ranges so he could practice his sniping. On his way down there he happened to see V limping along with his leg, cursing it because it seemed he couldn't bear it to be messing up on him right after the fight in the mess hall.

Piers straggled behind and watched from a short distance while V went down to the shooting range and started taking aim at the targets. He shot them clean through one after the other, not seeming to even take a breath until he had completely unloaded his clips. After about ten minutes or so, he wasn't really sure how long it had been, Piers walked up to him and put his hand on V's shoulders. Piers could see the tension and anger that welled up in him when he put his hand on his shoulder. He wasn't sure if V could see him but suddenly V brought his right arm around to the side Piers had his hand on, aiming to punch him out right then and there. Piers was able to block the hit before it came into contact with his head but he wasn't expecting the amount of force behind it and was momentarily knocked off balance. He started falling but before he actually hit the ground V grabbed him and pulled him back up.

The shock was obviously evident in V's face, along with a pained expression full of remorse regret and anger all in one, it was strange yet intriguing to Piers because for some reason he just _wanted_ to know what was going on that was causing this.

_"__S-Sorry… I didn't realize it was you…"_

_"__It's alright, V. I didn't mean to freak you out there."_

_"__No, no. It's alright. I shouldn't be so jumpy and pissed off around camp, especially when I'm shooting a god damn gun I could have pulled that thing around and fucking shot someone."_

_"__Hey, it's alright. You don't need to explain anything. Just wanted to make sure you were ok."_

V was surprised at that. This kid hadn't been here for even an hour and a half and he was already the one checking up on more senior soldiers, making sure they didn't bite their own guns or do anything stupid. He had been right about this kid, there was more to him and just a simple conversation could discern. It was unsettling to say the least, normally recruits are open books, they get anything and everything out in the open, this kid however, seemed to be a closed book that could only be read by the smallest and most minute of actions he would take that showed to other people. V sighed before he decided he should continue on and tell the kid something.

_"__I guess you deserve to know the truth about what that fucker Andy was talking about."_

_"__You don't need to say anything if you don't want to, V."_

_"__No, I do and it needs to be said, god knows what kind of crap Andy started yelling after I left that probably has a good basis for it. Just one thing though, would you mind having a little target shootout with me first?"_

Piers nodded in acknowledgement and they both loaded there weapons ready to shoot the targets. Piers tried to notice as much as he could about the way V was shooting. You could tell a lot about how someone was by the way they shot at a target, especially after storming out of a mess hall with nearly half the base watching you. Piers wasn't sure what was wrong with him, but he could see a cold, barely restrained anger in V's eyes and he was sure if he had not left when he did, V and Andy would've gone at it and one of them might have ended up in the infirmary for a while, and oddly, even with his crippled leg, Piers had a sneaking suspicion that someone would have been Andy. Piers also watched how V would shoot a target and before the next one would come up, he makes sure to plant another shot as close as he could to the first one. All of his shots were head-shots on the targets. After their little shoot out had ended Piers had perfectly scored every single target out of twenty. V had nineteen, and Piers noticed the way that he had unloaded all of his ammo into the head of the second last target; it had been almost a dozen rounds of ammo.

_"__Alright, so, since you got more targets than me, I'll tell you want those idiots decided to bring up."_

Piers knew that was a lie, he watched as V unloaded all of his ammo before the last target and didn't even bother to reload his gun.

_"__You've got good aim kid, I used to have that same aim as well. Just don't let it go to your head."_

Piers looked at him confused at the words the older soldier was saying to him.

_"__What do you mean?"_

_"__What I mean is, I got this fucking limp because I thought I had perfect aim, that there wasn't a target I could miss. I got this limp because of my fucking pride, that everyone always looked at me like I was some kind of super sniper. I've only ever missed one target while on a mission, and that target was what caused this damned limp and the life of one of Alpha's best soldiers…"_

Piers let that sink in. It was obvious to him now. at least Andy was a member of Alpha Team that held grudges, and he held them hard. He wasn't sure what to say to everything this guy was telling him, but he also wanted to make sure he didn't snap and do something. So he did the only thing he could think of, he tried to be the soldiers friend.

_"__So kid,"_ Piers just snapped awake from his thoughts, he didn't even realize V had been talking to him, _"What I am trying to say is, don't ever let your pride get in the way of anything you do on a mission. Don't ever think you can't be beaten the way I did. I thought nothing could stop me, and look what happened. Someone pushes me out of the way to take a bullet meant for__** ME**__ and I end up with a fucked leg, and in my head, the cause of one of my team mate's deaths."_

Piers looked over to V. He could see in his eyes that he was letting a wall break down, he was not sure if that was good or bad. Although he did feel like this might be the most this guy has ever talked to anyone about how he got his limp. It really did not seem like anyone else on the Alpha Team wanted to be near this guy, but Piers knew that he had to be the one person to break that.

_"__For what it's worth, V, I would be glad to have you covering me if I ever needed help on the field."_

V gave him a slight smile in response.

_"__Thanks kid. It's been a while since this happened and I still haven't really come to terms with it, but, thank you. It's been a huge load off my shoulders for someone to finally know this shit. Well, it's getting cold and it's getting late, let's go ahead and turn in for the night I guess."_

Piers didn't argue, and together they just walked in companionable silence back to the bunk house for Alpha Team. Tomorrow would be Piers' first day as a full-fledged member of Alpha Team. Tomorrow, he would be able to start showing them what he can do, and hopefully stop the inevitable conflict he saw arising between V and Andy.


	4. Chapter 4: First Mission

Chapter 4: First Mission

"War is the beginning of death. To celebrate any victory in war is to celebrate nothing but death." ~ Unkown

Note: I absolutely loved writing this Chapter for you guys. Hopefully i might be able to get 5 up today as well im starting on it even as im posting this up! Enjoy!Leave thoughts or ideas in the comments for me! :)

After about five minutes of walking V and Piers both ended back up at the bunkhouse, they walked inside and saw the other soldiers, Marco, Carl, and Andy, but none of them made any move to talk to either Piers or V. Piers' bunk was the one directly above V's and he could still remember why V had told him to take it and now he understood why they had that conversation.

"_Hey Nivans, take the bunk above mine, don't worry about being any closer to those assholes than you need to be."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_What I mean is, shit is probably going to happen that you don't want to be a part of. Just trying to make sure you don't get caught up with it. There are worse things around here for that asshole Andy to poke at and a new recruit shouldn't really be one of them."_

"_Alright, I guess. Thank you."_

V smiled slightly at Nivans before continuing, _"No need to say thanks. Just try to keep yourself out of trouble ok Nivans?"_

"_Yes Sir."_

V gave him a genuine laugh when Piers made that remark, _"No need to call me sir, just call me V. Formalities are better left for the officers and those who care for them eh?"_

Piers himself wasn't sure what to say to that but he nodded at V in understanding. He really did listen to the soldiers' words, and he was not sure whether or not he did or did not want to be around when things went down and he had a feeling it was going to be between this guy and the rest of Alpha Team. Piers was then jolted from his thoughts when Andy walked forward, with an evil look in his eye as he watched V.

"_Hey, Brooder…. Sorry about… earlier…."_

V froze in place and didn't even move when he responded, _"Keep your apologies to yourself Andy. I know you didn't just come to tell me that shit all on your own and don't even worry about what you said earlier. The kid knows enough now and that is all there is to it."_

Andy gave V a slow nod before he turned back around and went to his own bunk. Piers was not sure what they started talking about after that because once he sat down on his bunk he took out a book called _*__The Battle for Stalingrad*_and started reading it while they were talking. He doesn't know what happened next to cause this, but he was pretty sure Andy, Marco, and Carl had been trying to come up with some sort of name to give him instead of *Nivans* or *Piers* which they seemed very intent on doing.

Piers was in the middle of reading his book when he heard Andy say,_ "Hey, Pup, how was your first day on base eh?"_

It wasn't Piers that spoke up first but it was V. Piers felt like an ass because right before V spoke up about anything his book felt out of his hand hit V in the head while he just sat there in a stunned state of shock because he wasn't ever expecting to hear that name outside of this closest friends and family members.

"_Andy lay off the kid on his first damn day why don't you? We don't need every freaking recruit running around with some half assed nickname you came up with on their first day."_

"_Lighten up V, he just wants to try and give the kid a name that he can use. What can be the harm in that? It's just a little name."_

"_Because the names you idiots come up with always mean something else Marco."_

Piers hopped down from his bunk and put his hand on V's shoulder hoping to diffuse the situation before it got any worse. Piers wasn't sure why this guy was being so protective of him but it made him feel a little bit better and inwardly thankful on the inside. He saw how these guys were treating an older soldier and to Piers it seemed to be the only thing stopping these guys from going all out crazy trying to terrorize him.

"_It's alright and sorry about the book. That just kind of caught me off guard."_

V nodded at him and tried to detach himself from the conversation. He would definitely have to try and give the kid some breathing space so he could get to know what kind of fuckers V had been dealing with since their fucked up mission that seemed so long ago. After just talking about random things for a few minutes V noticed everyone head back to their bunks and he saw Piers at the door motioning him outside for a second. He had looked to see if the others were watching, which they weren't, so he headed outside to see what the kid wanted.

"_Hey."_ Piers was the first one to talk.

"_Hey, sorry about that kid, didn't mean to embarrass you or anything if I did."_

"_No, it's fine. Just kind of surprised how… protective you seem to be of me."_

V sighed before continuing, _"It's not so much as being protective as those idiots have scared off enough recruits with their crap. As far as I am concerned there's a lot more to you than anyone here probably even knows and I don't want those idiots fucking it up for someone that will probably be a future leader in the B.S.A.A. because lord knows I've dealt with enough of them over the past months, you shouldn't have too as well."_

Piers nodded at him and extended his hand to shake V's, _"Well, thanks for that I guess. I guess we should turn in for the night hmm?"_

V extended his arm forward and shook Piers' hand, _"Yeah, I guess we should. G'Night kid and just try not to take things too quickly around here alright?"_

"_Alright, thanks, V."_

That night, when Piers went to sleep he has his first nightmare about the war and almost nothing in it had made any sense to him. He was at the top of a building, his team was being surrounded by B.O.W.s on all sides and they were being air lifted out of there. One of the members of his team was dragging him up the stairs to the chopper, but when he looked at the soldier's face there was nothing but an empty pit of black.

"_**Damn it all kid, you ARE going to make it! You get your ass up on the chopper or I'll fucking throw you in it!" **_

Piers was not sure who it was but he recognized the voice. It almost seemed like the voice of one of the soldiers that he was currently working with, although he couldn't seem to place who it was.

"_**What… what happened?"**_

"_**Bastards through in a damn grenade and you got hit with some shrapnel, don't worry kid you're going to be fine, just get your ass up on that chopper."**_

They were both nearing the chopper now, and Piers could see the empty voids as faces of four more soldiers, ushering them to the helicopter.

"_**You… you get on first, Sir."**_

"_**Kid, don't give me that hero bullshit, you are getting your ass out of here and you don't have another word to say in it, do you hear me?"**_

"_**Bu-"**_

"_**No buts kid! You are getting YOUR ass on that chopper and you aren't fucking looking back!"**_

With those last words the soldier handed Piers off to the men in the chopper and they hauled him inside. The other soldiers were yelling for him to get on the helicopter but he just stood on the outside and stared in at all of them, one by one he looked them in the eye and they all came to a quiet understanding, except for Piers.

"_**C'mon! You can still make it! Get up here!"**_

Piers was pleading with the soldier to get him into the helicopter but he just stood there, and looked straight at Piers, and for a second, he thought he saw something flicker across that black void of a face, but he couldn't understand what it was.

"_**Get his ass out of here! I'll keep in contact with you guys over the radio. Now GO!"**_

The helicopter took off and started and started flying away, Piers was in utter shock that they had just left one of their men behind. They started hearing crackling over the radio and Piers scrambled to grab his so he could listen in.

"_**A-ph- Alpha Team, do you read me?"**_

"_**We read you."**_

"_**Good, I don't know how much longer I can hold them; you have to get out of here NOW."**_

"_**We're…. We're doing our best…. I'm sorry…"**_

More crackling and static was coming over the radio now. Piers could hear the soldier's voice getting fainter and weaker, his radio must be dying. Then, from nowhere it sparked back to life and they could hear the sounds of a fire fight going on in the background.

"_**You should have died two years ago you fucker! This ends here damn it!"**_

"_**Heh heh heh… Still burdened are we? Now you're going to wish you had been the one to take that bullet, now you get to watch as the rest of your team dies slowly."**_

"_**Alpha Team do you hear me?!"**_

"_**We hear you!"**_

"_**STRAFE THAT FUCKING CHOPPER TO THE LEFT NOW OR YOU'RE ALL GOING TO FUCKING DIE!"**_

They could all hear a cackling laugh in the background. Piers didn't understand why they had to strafe the chopper so he looked out of the window. He could see a rocket coming towards them _***This is it***_ he thought in his dream, _***This is the end.***_ But, just before the rocket hit, an explosion rocked his nightmare and he woke with a start, feeling like he was having a panic attack. Once he had calmed down he looked at his watch and noticed that it was not even past three in the morning. He decided to get dressed and take a walk outside to try and clear his head from the nightmare that he was just having. Piers walked out the front of the bunkhouse and stopped dead when he heard a voice talking to him.

"_Up a little early, aren't we kid?"_

Piers was a bit frightened to say the least. He had not noticed that V was gone when he had woken up and wondered immediately why he was out here on his own, it was early in the morning and it was still pretty cold outside.

"_I… couldn't sleep… kind of had a nightmare…"_

"_Nightmare eh? Don't think on it too much kid, we're all haunted by demons from our past."_

"_I… I guess… but it wasn't something from my past, I don't even know if it's something that __**could **__happen. It just completely freaked me out because I'm sure I recognized every voice in it, but I could never see any of the faces. They were just empty black holes looking at me."_

"_Really now? What was in this nightmare? What was so bad about it?"_

"_Well… I was being dragged up the stairs by someone, we were heading to an escape with a helicopter, I think I got hit by something from a grenade or shot, I don't remember which. The guy… he threw me into the chopper with everyone else and he stayed behind."_

Piers stopped talking for a moment to try and regain his composure. The scare from the nightmare was still fresh and he still wasn't sure why those things were going on in that nightmare. V put his hand on Piers' shoulder to try and comfort him.

"_Hey, kid. It's alright, it's better to get it out than to let it haunt you for the rest of your life."_

Piers took a breath of relief, _"We took off, and he tried to keep in contact with us from over the radio. It was pretty hard to hear at first but it got better to a point. He was holding back a __**lot**__ of B.O.W.s and then we lost contact for a few seconds. When it came back we could hear a cackling in the background and weren't sure what happened, but we knew he was still alive when he started talking back to it."_

"_Really, what happened between them?"_

Piers swallowed, trying to clear his throat for what he was about to say. He looked at V and remembered how familiar the voice was… but he couldn't place whether or not it was actually from this soldier.

"_It… it said… __***You're going to wish you had been the one to take that bullet, now you're going to watch the rest of your team die, slowly* **__and right before that all I could here was him tell the thing it should have died two years ago."_

Piers watched V for any signs of a reaction to what he had just said. What he saw was not what he expected. He was expecting for him to stay calm and not really say anything. Instead, the soldier paled, his breathing became ragged and Piers saw him reach down to his left leg.

Piers nervously swallowed, trying to clear his throat for the question that was building up in his head, _"Do… those words mean anything to you…?" _

V looked him in the eyes, but didn't respond for a moment; instead he looked back at the ground and muttered something Piers could not hear. Piers was starting to be sure that V was the soldier who has taken him to the chopper in his nightmare.

"_Yes… and no… tell me… how did that nightmare end…?"_

"_Well… the last thing that was said was __***STRAFE THAT FUCKING CHOPPER TO THE LEFT NOW OR YOUR ALL GOING TO DIE!***__ and the last thing I saw was an explosion and then I woke up."_

"_Alright… well get back in that bunkhouse and try to go to sleep for me alright kid?"_

"_Alright… thanks again… V."_

"_Don't thank me yet…"_ is what Piers thought he heard V mutter under his breath as he went back inside to try and sleep again.

Later piers woke up when everyone's alarms went off around six A.M. He went over to the bathhouse and showered and got dress and went with the others to the mess hall. When he got there and looked at Alpha Team he was surprised not to see V sitting with the rest of them. He walked over to see if he could hopefully find out where the guy went.

"_Have you guys seen V around?"_

Andy and Carl just scoffed at him but thankfully Marco told him, _"He went down to see the Captain about something."_

"_Alright, thanks, Marco."_

"_No problem, Nivans."_

Piers walked down to where the captain had his quarters at but before he went inside he heard the Captain and V talking. He didn't want to barge in because he could hear them talking about him, and although it wasn't usually his style, he decided to eavesdrop on them.

"_So, V. Have you learned anything else out about this new recruit?"_

"_Little bit, Sir. I also talked with him earlier, he had a nightmare and some things in it disturbed me."_

"_Really? What is it about someone else's nightmares that would disturb you?"_

"_It's not that he had the nightmare so much as what was in it, Sir. It is something from two years ago… and I'm sure you know exactly what I'm talking about…"_

"_So… hmm… just keep a close eye on the kid, we're going out on our first mission with him tonight."_

"_Sir?"_

"_We have had reports of pockets of infected bodies in the area. Several of the teams are being dispatched through the next few days to see if they can find them. But tell me, you know why I brought this kid here, what is your take on him?"_

"_Well Sir… what do you want me to say? What you know I can say or what you are afraid of me to say?"_

"… _Both I suppose."_

"_Well, Sir, he is definitely someone you would want as your second-in-command, although he has a lot of the same qualities as your… former second-in-command."_

Chris sighed in his chair, _"I thought as much. That is part of the reason why I wanted him to join the team; you know I don't blame you for what happened that day right V? It wasn't your fault what happened to Sarl, he did what he had to do for his superior."_

"_Sir, I know what the kid did, but that doesn't make what happened any less my fault in my mind. I should have been watching better that day, and I should have seen that thing that took aim at me, I wasn't paying attention and that kid risked his life to save mine and he died in the process and I've got to live with that every day of my life."_

Chris sighed again, _"I know you do, and I wish that you didn't let it bring you down. There are a lot of deaths in this war and there is still going to be more. Just try to take care of the kid alright? I don't want what happened to you to happen to him. I need a second-in-command and with all honesty if you would I would still have that man be you."_

"_I know you would Sir, and if that day hadn't of happened I probably still would be. But just promise me this, if any indication of that kid's nightmare should be heeded, when the time comes that I can repay what happened two years ago, don't stay. Just keep everyone else alive."_

Chris' face darkened before he answered the soldier standing before him, _"Alright… as you wish. Just don't stay behind if it can be helped ok?"_

"_Yes Sir, and one last thing before I leave."_

"_Hmm? What would that be?"_

"_I believe there is someone here who wants to speak with you."_

Before he even knew what happened the door was swung open. Piers was still standing there and he was surprised at how quickly the door had opened, he didn't think V was standing right by it. V pulled him in and showed him to a chair while Chris just watched.

"_So, Nivans… what do you want to talk about?"_


	5. Chapter 5: First Encounter

Chapter 5: First Encounter

Note: Okay guys so here is chapter 5. Really got into the swing of writing this one after i finished 4. And to my L4D2 readers i got a message from another reader and sorry to say this cause its kind of embarassing but ill start on the next chapter when i... find the notebook with the outline i lost :S

And PLEASE give me your opinions on V! :)

"I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear." ~ Rosa Parks

"_So, what did you need to talk about, Nivans?"_

"_N-nothing sir, I was just looking for V, he wasn't in the mess hall earlier."_

V raised an eyebrow at Chris, _"Told you he was very perceptive. Not many pay attention to who is and is not in the mess hall when it's eating time."_

Piers rubbed the back of his head, turning a shade of red from the embarrassment he was getting by being pulled in to talk to these guys when he was just eavesdropping outside the door.

"_So, since he is here, do you think now would be a good time to fill him in on our mission tonight V?"_

"_Sure thing Captain. See you later, let's go Nivans."_

V dragged Nivans out of the room and marched him on. He took Piers down to the shooting range to get the kid to practice his aim for tonight's mission. Piers was a little more than grateful once they got out of that room and he let his relief show on his face. V only smirked at him when he saw how relieved the kid was to not be in front of the captain anymore.

"_So, today you're going to practice your aim with more than just hat rifle of yours kid. You're going to use a pistol and an assault rifle, here."_ V handed him the weaponry.

"_So, you are basically just going to take out as many targets as you can. Tonight our mission is going to take us into our first encounter you have probably ever had with anyone infected with a bio-terror virus. There have been reported pockets and small groups of infected lumbering around in the area. Our job tonight is to follow the road about twenty miles and see if there is anything coming our way."_

"_Alright, so, what weapons am I going to be using on this mission?"_

"_What do you think I just gave you those for kid? C'mon man I know you've got a big brain in that head of yours learn to use it heh."_

Piers smirked at him, feeling the obvious tease coming from the older soldier. When Piers looked at him and remembered the conversation he had just over heard, and he still could not help but shake the feeling that V was the one dragging him to that helicopter in his nightmare. After a few hours of shooting V was looking at him with a look of approval.

"_Good job Nivans, not everyone can hit as many targets as you, from the same distance, and with any kind of gun we give them."_

"_Thank you, Sir."_

"_Hah, kid just cause I'm giving you some practice and shit doesn't mean you have to call me *Sir* save that for the boys who actually give a damn about it."_

"_Alright."_

"_Okay, so since you know we are going on a mission tonight, what do you say we head down to the mess hall and get something to eat? It is probably pretty close to lunch time by now."_

"_Alright."_

"_Oh shit, kid, before I forget,"_ V took something out of his jacket, _"you dropped this last night… kind of forgot to give it back to you, and uh, hope you don't mind, but I thought it was a pretty good read. You been into that kind of stuff for a long time?"_

Piers became a little embarrassed at that, surprised that he hadn't realized his book was missing, _"Yeah, military family, military books I suppose."_

"_Heh, good to hear. Alright kid let's get going."_

Piers and V walked together down to the mess hall completely suited up and ready to go for the mission when the time comes around. They found Marco Andy and Carl all sitting at their usual table together laughing and messing around and Piers wondered if they had yet to hear about the mission that they were supposed to be going on later that night.

"_Well, well, well, look who has decided to show up now huh guys?"_ Andy really could kill a mood.

"_Andy don't start shit today man c'mon yesterday was enough for a whole damn week."_ Surprisingly Marco said something to try and get him to stop.

"_Oh calm down Marco I'm not trying to start anything today these kids just weren't at breakfast this morning can't a guy wonder?_

"_Not when that guy is a jackass for no reason bringing something up that shouldn't have been._

"_Carl, I'll bring up damn well what I want to bring up."_

"_All of you shut up before you regret it. We've got something to tell you blabbering idiots and you will probably be glad to be out of this crowded ass base for once in your boring ass stay here the last few months. Tonight we are going out on a mission and you better well be damn ready to do some shooting. So I want to see your ass down as that shooting range by the time me and Nivans here are finished eating."_

"_Really and just how do you expect to force us to go do some target practice?"_

"_You're still forgetting who used to be your commanding officer dipshit. Or do you want me to start getting Nivans crawling up your asses the way I did?"_

Carl and Marco just sat there motionless and silent while those two went off at each other. They both knew all too well how hardcore this guy could get when someone didn't follow orders or he didn't think they were preparing well enough for a mission that they were about to go on. They were watching the situation go on when they noticed Piers put his hand on V's shoulder and the guy visibly calmed.

"_Andy, since I __**AM**__ the second in command and since your being a pain in his ass about it, now it's a fucking order to go down to that damn shooting range once you finish and I expect you to get in so much damn aim that your eyeballs are going to fall out from how much you have been looking through the scope, is that understood soldier?"_

Andy just looked at Piers wide-eyed for a moment _"Sir yes sir!"_ Andy finished that off by saluting Piers and scurrying out of the mess hall to go get some target practice in.

Piers heaved a sigh of relief and he saw V staring at him surprised. Piers just figured that this was because of how he had just for the first time used his *second-in-command* status to make one of the soldiers do something and it was only his second day on base and with the team.

"_So, Carl, Marco, any arguments with the lieutenant here?"_

"_No sir!"_ they both said in unison.

Piers and V watched them both head on out the door rushing after Andy. They sat down in a bit of muted silence while they both ate their lunches, almost starving from not have having any breakfast.

"_So Nivans, anything you want to know about your first mission or anything else like that?"_

"_Well, I guess my first question would be… How did __**your**__ first mission go?"_

"_Well, thank god it wasn't what everyone has been going off about lately but it went pretty smoothly. First missions are always pretty basic things around here after a team gets a new recruit, the B.S.A.A. may be eager to take down shit in this world but they are definitely not eager to send new recruits to their deaths if they can stop it."_

"_Well, that is certainly good to know."_

"_Nivans, just so you know, we are going to be going out at night, it's going to be dark, so keep a watchful eye out because we are just patrolling the road but don't do anything stupid and get yourself killed okay?"_

"_Alright, thanks. So, how have those guys been lately to work with? Think I might be having a hard time to get them to work with me?"_

"_Carl and Marco probably not so much, they normally go with Andy because they both know he could kick their asses six ways to Sunday and back without even trying. You're probably also going to ask this so I will just tell you now, Andy has never tried anything on me and he never will, they know I will stomp his ass flat to the ground without even trying and they don't even know things that I can do, and one of them involves this crippled leg but I won't be letting you in on that secret just yet Nivans."_ V ended that with a wink.

~_**Several Hours Later**_

Piers and V headed down to the shooting range to make sure that Marco Carl and Andy were still shooting at some targets. They were which V was surprised to see and inwardly glad for. Chris came down and met his troops to make sure they were all loaded up and ready to go. Everyone had their assault rifles pistols and knives and Piers, the only one out of any of them, was carrying a sniper rifle on his back, the same one he had with him when Chris had seen him at recruiting.

"_Alright guys, so, our mission tonight is to head out in the APC and take out any B.O.W.s we happen to spot on the way out and we need to keep at it until we go out and back twenty miles and don't see anything._

"_Sir, when are we moving out?"_

"_We move out as soon as everyone is ready V. Is everyone ready yet?"_

"_Sir yes sir!" _They all shouted this in unison and raised their weapons skyward in a salute and got ready to head out.

"_Alright everyone, load up and get into the APC so we can get going."_

It took them all about ten minutes to load up and get into the APC and start heading out to check the road for B.O.W.s that might be milling around. V had told Piers to keep a sharp eye on the sides of the Road because the back of the APC had no windows and Chris wasn't very keen on paying attention to anything that might move on the side of the road, he usually just kept his eyes forward and if they ran into a group of B.O.W.s they just got out and wasted them all. It had been about twenty minutes of idle chatter and they were about to reach the end of their destination so that they would turn around when Piers spotted something out the side of the window.

There was several of those _somethings_ milling around on the side of the road, aimlessly walking in the direction of the base and didn't even pay any attention to the APC that game thundering past them. He looked into the mirror and saw that V was staring at him, watching him. Piers didn't give it any more forethought as he opened up the door and rolled out of the APC swinging the door shut behind him with it still thundering past.

Andy was the first to speak up, _"Kid what the fu-"_ the door was shut and Piers was gone, running down the road opposite the way they were going.

Half a mile down the road (Chris was driving like a maniac doing almost 100 mph) V rolled out of the APC as well and sprinted off in Piers' direction. The other four took a shocked moment before they came to a stop and got out trying to figure out where the rest of their team went.

~Meanwhile

Piers had seen things milling about on the side of the road and couldn't help but wonder why. Then he saw it, they had horrible glowing eyes that had slits in the middle of them. They weren't extreme B.O.W.s but they were infected, all but one of them just being some regular zombie shuffling about. He took out his pistol and fired a shot into the group. They all slowly turned and faced Piers. One by one they started to shamble and run after him, the one in the middle of the group, the one he shot at, turned and shot something at _him_ and Piers barely managed to dodge out of the way of it. This he was extremely grateful for because when he saw it land on the ground it started _**melting**_ things around it like that thing was shooting acid out of its mouth. Just to test it, he waited while it moved forward and then shot at it again, it shot back. Piers realized this thing was only shooting acid if it was shot at.

Changing his aim Piers started targeting the other infected running towards him now; he had a considerable distance advantage. He started mowing them down with his assault rifle one after the other and they started burning up the moment they hit the ground. As he neared the end of the mass of infected it was becoming harder and harder to down any of them, these ones were slower yes but they took a heck of a lot more for Piers to manage to kill one. The one that shot acid was soon the only one left and it was getting a little bit too close for comfort. He could hear footsteps running up behind him but he didn't dare to turn away from the thing that was getting closer to him, and he couldn't shoot at it because the moment he did that thing would melt him through with the acid it would shoot back. In the distance he could hear four distinct voices yelling for him trying to figure out what he was doing.

"_Damn it all kid! What the fuck did I tell you about doing stupid shit!"_

He recognized the soldier's voice as V. V was running up behind him with his combat knife out. He tackled the thing and they both went rolling further down the road and off the side of it, slightly heading into the woods. Piers was stunned but he started to follow after it and what he saw on the way deeper into the woods where they were going disturbed him. Trees were cracked, acid was everywhere melting into the surrounding plant life and vegetation but he didn't see V or the B.O.W. anywhere but he could hear them fighting.

"_You want something to fight you son of a bitch well bring it on! You fuckers aren't killing another man from my team until you fucking kill me first!"_

Piers could see them both now. V was fighting hand to hand with the creature while it was taking its turn in as well trying to get at V and kill him. V was getting in jabs and slices at the creature and in turn it would shoot acid back at him. Piers was entranced on the fight because all he could see was V's almost _inhuman_ reflexes and his speed for someone that had a limp leg he could dodge very well.

All at once Piers wasn't sure what happened. The creature shot some acid and it hit V dead on in the arm. It started melting through V's gear at a fast speed but it didn't seem to faze the soldier at _all_ instead he kept on fighting with an even higher resolve to kill the B.O.W.

"_You B.O.W.s give yourselves too much credit. Not all of you could be mindless idiots if you just fucking tried, now you get to die, your acid doesn't do shit to me you fucker."_

Piers watched as V grabbed his combat knife with renewed force and shoved it hilt deep into the creature's throat and even impaled it on a tree that was behind it. Piers watched as the creature dissolved into ashes, and what was left behind was strange, there was no knife left of course the acid had melted it, but the acid still had _**no**_ lingering effect on the soldier that had been fighting it. Piers wasn't sure what to do right now so he just stood there, watching to see what would happen. Then V turned towards him and stared him dead in his eyes, unrelenting anger present on his face.

"_Kid, what the __**FUCK**__ did I tell you about doing stupid shit like __**THAT?**__ I told you not to go off doing stupid shit on the first fucking mission! You could have fucking died do you not understand that?!"_

"_I…"_

"_Kid get a hold of your fucking self! Next time don't even so much as __**THINK**__ about doing that shit or I'm going to kick your ass my fucking __**SELF**__ until you learn not to do that crap!"_

Piers just stood there in shock. He wasn't sure what to say or even do. Here was the soldier, who he had spent most of his time with since coming to the base, and thought he couldn't possibly piss him off, but here he was, pissed off to no _**end**_ at Piers for what he just did.

"_**Piers?! Brooder?! Are you guys out here?!"**_

Piers and V could both hear Andy Carl and Macro all yelling for them, _"Down here!"_ Piers yelled to them.

"_Oh thank fucking god you guys are ok. What the hell was that about?! Why did you go rolling out of the damn APC without so much as even a word to the rest of us?! Brooder! Why the fuck did you even follow this kid out?! Do you know how fucking stupid that could have been?!"_

That is when V turned on him and completely exploded, _"Don't you fucking tell me what I should or shouldn't do you fucking idiot! I'm the one that just made sure the kid didn't fucking die, but the same can't be said for you idiots fucking around while we were supposed to be on a fucking __**MISSION**__ and you idiots couldn't do anything but talk about random shit while we were supposed to be out here looking for these fucking things!_

All three of them looked down at their feet in shame, knowing what the soldier said was true, They hadn't even so much as _seen_ the B.O.W.s that they were supposed to be looking for yet Piers and V had taken out almost two dozen of them and they never even so much as saw one move. The next thing they heard was Chris barreling down after the soldiers to catch up with them. He stopped just next to them out of breath trying to say something to all of them.

"_G-Good job… W-what the fuck…. Did you guys… jump out… For"_

Before Piers could say anything he saw V shoot the Captain a pointed look and he stopped the conversation.

"_Okay… well guys, let's head back. Marco, Carl, Andy, you guys are with me, V and Piers, you guys head back on foot and make sure we didn't miss anything. Report said there was only one crowd down this way but you can never be too sure."_

V nodded at him and even though they complained a little the other three followed Chris. They all hopped into the APC and took off down the road back to the base. V turned to look at Piers and gave him a venomous glare. Piers was beginning to wish he had never talked to this guy with the way he seemed to glare into your very soul.

"_Um…"_

"_Kid, what do you think I meant when I said don't do anything stupid, honestly what did you think I meant?"_

"_Well… I noticed you were watching me in the mirror… and…. Well… I was trying to figure out how to show you guys I could do something and…"_

"_Rolling out of the fucking APC guns blazing isn't the way to do it soldier! Ugh, shit kid. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to go off on you like that, or the others for that matter but its just-" _V let out an extremely exasperated sigh.

"_Kid, this team means the world to me. It's where I spent most of my life, the guys here on this team and the others are family, like them or not. They come with the same arguments and shit that comes with a regular family it's just that what happened in the past still haunts me… and speaking of that… how much of that did you actually see?"_

"_Um… Well I saw the trees… and I kind of heard you yelling at it, and then I saw when it shot you with acid… and when you impaled it on the tree there…"_

V grunted, _"Just remember what I told you kid, there was a secret that I wasn't going to tell you? Well I still haven't told you but now you know. I will tell you more in the morning after we get some sleep alright?"_

Piers nodded at him, they had just arrived back at base after a couple hours and they both headed in. Piers went inside first and climbed into his bunk. It took a while but he was able to start getting some rest. But that is when the nightmare came back again.

"_**STRAFE THAT FUCKING CHOPPER TO THE LEFT NOW OR YOU'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!"**_


	6. Chapter 6: Unending Tide

Chapter 6: Unending Tide

"When your time comes to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home." ~Tecumseh

Note: If you read Quotes and REALLY read the details, something should be made REALLY obvious. One more thing, if you guys haven't noticed and are confused, anything not indented has dialogue with it. For anyone engrossed by Piers' nightmare, IT'S A REALITY! Enjoy! Guys i hope you like the ending i knew what i wanted but it took me a while to actually type it out because (doing the flashback) i was really sad actually putting that in :(

Piers woke with a start the next morning. He was having that same nightmare all over again, but now it was becoming more vivid and detailed. It seemed the more time went on the more real it became, almost as if that was actually an approaching moment in the near future. It was about four A.M. and Piers wasn't able to go back to sleep. He decided to do what he always did, but just do it a little bit earlier in the day. He went down to the bathhouse and took a quick shower, then headed out to the shooting range to get some targeting in before the morning meal.

Once Piers got down to the shooting range there was a sight he wasn't expecting to see. The Captain and V were already down there, both taking aim at targets and talking amongst each other. Piers wasn't sure if he should go but in the end he decided to just take up a lane further down from them so that they had some space from him.

One shot, one target, _"V, what do you think we should do?"_

Another target hit, this time the shooter wasn't even paying attention, _"I don't know, I just don't know. You know what this means though, don't you?"_

Chris took out three targets with a single bullet, _"Yeah, I do. That still doesn't make it any less frightening though."_

V took down a whole row of moving targets with a short burst of bullets from an assault rifle, _"Captain, when have our missions even been without fear, or without… regret…"_

Chris stopped for a moment, not sure how to respond to him and seeming to be at an utter loss for words, then he sighed, _"You know I still don't blame you for what happened. The kid knew what he was doing, and he did what he thought he should have done."_

V sent several shots through the head of the same target, _"Chris, no matter what you tell me I will never get those images out of my head. Not even the thought that the kid __**thought**__ that would save me ever calms the regret raging a war in my head."_

"_What do you mean?"_

V gave off an extremely exasperated and tired sigh, _"Chris, you know as well as I do that taking that bullet through my damn head wouldn't have made a difference whether I lived or died. Knowing that kid thought he was saving me doesn't help, knowing that he died __**thinking**__ that makes it worse. Because you know that there is very few things in this world that can kill me, you know as well as I do I walk with this leg out of choice."_

"_Why did you never decide to fix it?"_

"_It's not that I never decided to fix it Chris, it's that I chose then and still choose now to keep it this way as a reminder to how foolish pride can make a person be. I thought I could keep us all together on that last mission, I thought I could keep every damn one of them off of our team, and we paid for it with a life that should never have been there in the first place."_

"_I know… I know it's just that… ugh, V I know this probably haunts you more than anything, and that you could have saved him if he wasn't already dead. But why do you let this thing haunt you? You know there are still going to be more deaths on this team and others around the world until this shit is over for good."_

"_Captain, you know now more than ever that nobody on this team will die before I do, and you know perfectly well how that will go about, you may not know the full extent of what I can do, but there is more to it than you can see."_ V had finished that by completely decimating a target with a spray of shotgun blasts and there was almost nothing of it left except for ragged holes and pieces falling to the ground.

Chris sighed, and he hoped what he said next might have some effect on V, _"V, just remember this okay? A great man once said that it is better to die a meaningful death and live a meaningless life. Just make sure to give that kid's death meaning ok?"_

"_Captain, you and I both know what we face at the end of this week. I will give that kid's death all the meaning in the world and return it in kind, but make sure of this, if anything happens, don't let them label me as KIA, because you know I won't be sir."_

Chris nodded at him. He turned to walk away and when he looked to the side he noticed Piers about halfway down the range shooting at targets. He walked over to V and tapped him on the shoulder. V looked at him curiously and Chris motioned over to Piers. V nodded back at Chris and they both walked together down to talk to the kid. Once they had walked up to him they stood behind Piers silently for a moment watching him work. They noticed how quickly he switched from target to target, taking aim, firing, and quickly pulling the lever back for another bullet to go into the chamber. He did all of this at an extremely efficient speed, his speed in taking them down almost mirrored how quickly V and the Captain could take down targets with a hand gun. The speed was amazingly quick and the accuracy almost the best they have ever seen. After a few minutes Chris took a step forward and placed his hand on Piers shoulder, he completely stopped in an instant, waiting a few seconds before turning around with some red coming to his face showing he was embarrassed by the two.

_S-s- Sorry um, Captain, I didn't want to bother you guys, should I leave?"_

V smirked at him, _"Kid, why on earth would we tell you to leave a practice range that is for __**everyone?**__ Honestly that is your dumbest question for the day so far Piers. We just needed to talk to you."_

Chris nodded at V before turning towards Piers, _"Did you hear anything we were saying? I'm being serious here Piers."_

"_Um… yeah… a little bit… but not a whole lot…"_

"_Well, I guess it is time to fill you in then."_

"_Sir?"_

"_We are going on a mission at the end of this week, kid."_

"…_Sir…?"_

"_He's telling you the truth Piers, we are going on a mission at the end of this week, and I need the entire squad prepared for it, this isn't going to be some walk in the park like that last mission was no matter how incredibly stupid you were being and how damn lucky you are V has been keeping an eye on you or you would have ended up as a melted puddle on the ground."_

Piers swallowed nervously at that, he knew all too well that the Captain was being serious, he _**was**_damn lucky that V had been there when he was, _"So… what is our mission then, Sir?_

Chris sighed, _"We're… going to an… area… that we've been to before. We are to try to crush the B.O.W. presence in the area by taking them all out. We won't lie to you Piers, the botched mission from two years ago that you heard about? This is… in the same place. All we are asking from you right now is just not to tell the rest of the team __**where**__ the mission is. Just to let them know that we are on a clear-out mission."_

Piers glanced to V for an explanation on this, _"He's right kid. This is what you have been hearing the fights and shit about for the few days you've been here. Now you get to see what makes a real soldier, but this time, seriously kid, __**don't**__ do anything stupid."_

Piers nodded at them. Chris first and then V, they placed their hand on Piers' shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. Piers walked off towards the barracks. The sun was coming up now and the base would be awaking for the morning meal soon. Piers needed to let the rest of the team know about the upcoming mission. This would prove to be a horrible mission indeed.

~Four days later, at rollout time for the mission

"_C'mon men move it! We need to get going!"_

"_On our way Captain!"_

V and Chris were both already waiting at the chopper, V currently seated inside of it preparing for the departure and Chris still outside, yelling for the rest of his team to hurry up and get inside so they could take off. Once the rest of the team got there, out of breath from running halfway across the base to reach them, they got strapped in and were off in about ten minutes.

"_Pilot to passengers, ETA to drop zone is twenty-five minutes."_

"_Ok boys, so here is the plan. We are going to be dropped off on the roof of an abandoned building and take up defensive positions inside. There is a large B.O.W. presence in the area and we are to clear the entire area. This area is supposed to have B.O.W.s are easily alerted to a hostile presence and can call on massive amounts of other B.O.W.s in an instant. Seeing as how this is his first real mission with us, Nivans will only be providing cover from the second highest floor in the building. Anything and Everything concerning operations outside of the building with be directed by V, I will be standing by on the first floor to provide support to fire into the street."_

"_Pilot to passengers, ETA to drop zone is now five minutes, prepare for departure, and good luck Alpha Team."_

Five minutes later Alpha Team was standing on the top of a 7 story building. They had set down there supplies and were ready to take up positions in the building. Chris made sure that everyone took three times the normal amount of ammunition because of the large amount of B.O.W.s reported to be in the area.

"_Alright kids, so this is how it's going to go down. Nivans, you are on the second highest floor, right below our pickup point for when we're done. Marco, Carl, you take up positions on the third floor and be ready to shoot anything that moves. Chris and Andy you've got front door duty to shoot anything that comes even near this building. I'll be heading out into the city to go scouting to see what's around here. You see anything that isn't me you shoot it no questions asked are we clear soldiers?"_

"_Yes Sir!" _everyone shouted this in unison.

Everyone took up their positions. Piers sat on the sixth floor in a room adjacent to the stairway and set up his rifle. He turned on the thermal vision so he could see what was out there if anything came around. He could momentarily see heat signatures in the distance of his scope but didn't dare to take a shot; he saw them for only the briefest moments and didn't want to bring an entire army crashing down on a building that only had five soldiers with it. Piers watched as V exited the building and headed deeper into the small city.

It seemed everything in the world was at a standstill. The eerie silence was threatening to engulf the soldier's minds with its numbing pain. The cruel mistress of fear seemed to be clawing at the confines of their minds with her icy claws, willing them to break and make a mistake that would cost them their lives. Then it began, Piers heard it before he saw it, gun shots from a rifle, an explosion, and a throaty roar shook the silence of the city and then a war began to rage with so much force that it seemed it would never end.

"_Come and get it you son of a bitch! You think you can take me?! __**YOU'VE GOT ANOTHER FUCKING THING COMING!**__"_ That is when the explosion had gone off and a roar shook the city.

B.O.W.s seemed to come at them from all sides. Soon the building was being peppered with volleys of bullets that seemed to come from the buildings themselves rather than from the guns of inhuman things that were shooting at them. Piers was starting to see them now. Hundreds of B.O.W.s were converging on their location, many of them resembling the J'avo. Then everything started to go wrong. Explosives started flying through the streets and the building. Piers heard a resounding shot and one of the soldiers cried out below. Piers looked in the direction that he heard the shot come from and saw a B.O.W. getting ready to take another shot. Without wasting a moment's hesitation Piers took aim with his rifle and fired. The shot sounded through the air and connected straight with hits target's head. The shot went through and sent blood and brains splattering across the wall behind his body. The sniper slumped forward and fell over the balcony, body tumbling to the ground as J'avo started coming out of the buildings.

Crackling started coming in over the team's radio, _"Alpha Team! Alpha Team?! Does anyone hear me?! ANSWER ME!"_

"_This is Chris, what the hell is going on out there?! We are pinned down to hell by these damn J'avo! Get your ass back here!"_

A pained scream came in over the radio, _"Ngahh! No! Get the fuck out of here! NOW!"_

The radio crackled into an eerie silence. _"Men, get out of your positions and get to the roof now, we are leaving. Alpha Leader to copter, do you copy?"_

"_We copy you Alpha Leader, status report?"_

"_We need an extraction ASAP there is too many J'avo and we are being overrun by these things!"_

"_Copy that Alpha Leader; lifting off now, ETA to pick up is three minutes."_

"_Roger that, but try and hurry up will ya? I don't know how long we can hold out."_

Within the next three minutes everything started going to shit for Alpha Team. Slowly the J'avo started pushing into the building. Chris and Andy held the first floor for a minute and a half before they had to retreat up to Carl and Marco so they could all hold it together. During this time Piers sat still on the sixth floor calmly and quickly shooting down any snipers he saw, and then more crackling came over the radio and they could hear a panicked voice coming through with it.

"_Alpha Team, get to the f-fucking rooftop! Hurry up damn it! Not- m- much time left!"_

"_You heard him boys, get up to the rooftop!"_

Piers stayed where he was, picking off J'avo left and right with his rifle. He saw V running down the street at high speed. The moment of hesitation that he took to see if V needed cover nearly cost him his life. A grenade had been thrown into the room he was in. Luckily though, the grenade went behind a bunch of stuff crowded into the back of the room but that didn't help save Piers from the shrapnel that went flying into him when he turned around.

"_Chris! What just happened?! Is the kid up there with you guys?!"_

"_No, he's not up here. Do you seem him down there?!"_

"_Fuck what the hell is this kid doing he's going to get himself killed!"_

"_Find him and get his ass up here!"_

Piers was in a lot of pain, he had blood coming out from the shrapnel wounds and he wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to remain conscious. He faintly heard someone yelling and saw a figure coming up into the room. That figure was V, he quickly ran in and kneeled down next to Piers.

"_C'mon kid, you aren't going to die here, not like this, not today."_

"_I… c-can't… breathe…"_

He was right, V could hear his ragged breathing, _"Kid, don't freak out but just be ready to run."_

"_W—what do you m- mean…"_

_ "This."_ V grabbed his arm and what had happened next still confused Piers long after the mission was over. He knew V could stop himself from being wounded but he had no clue that he could actually use that ability to help someone else. Slowly, the blood stop coming out and Piers was able to start breathing again, his unfocused and cloudy vision returning although it was still weak. He still was not able to walk however, and V had to resort to dragging the kid up the stairs as quickly as he could.

"_Wait... take my… rifle…"_

"_Kid don't even try! You are getting on that copter and that's it!"_

They burst through onto the roof of the building the chopper sitting just in front of them. Piers could see a look of horror on the faces of everyone in the chopper but he wasn't sure why.

"_Chris! Get the kid in there! Then get the fucking hell out of here!"_

Piers was the one who spoke up, _"No! C'mon you can still g-get out of here!"_

"_I'm not leaving and that's it! Get the fuck out of here now! And kid, just remember, the dead are never dead until we forget them."_

Piers took his rifle and threw it at V, _"If you aren't leaving then at l-least use my rifle."_

A loud resounding roar shook throughout the building. V doubled over clutching his head in pain. What Piers saw scared the living hell out of him and he wasn't sure how it happened. Slowly, V started to change. Where the B.O.W. from the other mission had shot him with acid, where there were _**no**_ marks before, his skin became ragged and sinewy, as if the acid itself had actually melted skin and he was just _hiding_ it from them. His leg remained the same but in his right eye there was a long scar down it, even through the eye itself and Piers couldn't help but feel that he actually could _**not**_ see through that eye.

"_Nyghahh! H-hurry up! Get out while you still can! I'll try and keep in touch over the radio!"_

"_Damn it V! Pilot, GO!"_

There was another roar, _"Don't think you can get away from me so easy Valen!" (say it starting like hay but with a V obviously)_

The entire team on the chopper was put into stunned silence. Nobody, not even Chris had ever heard V's full name. He turned around with a look of hateful maliciousness apparent in his face. Piers wasn't sure what was keeping him together, his uncanny ability against wounds or his pure hatred of the creature standing in front of him.

"_You are going to regret ever being here you fucking bug."_

V ran at the thing and tackled it down and yelled, _"Get out of here now! If you're still there when I'm done here I'm shooting you idiots out of the sky myself!"_

"_Heh, heh, heh! Don't sound so confident now Valen! Even if you get me you still don't know what else __**THEY**__ have to get!"_ V grabbed the things leg and broken it in several places, the leg was visibly broken and was jagged in several directions as they heard the thing gasping and shrieking like a mad man through the radio.

"_Heh! Good one, b-but you still haven't stopped… that!"_

Nobody knew what was going on but the next thing they heard through the radio was _**"STRAFE THAT FUCKING CHOPPER TO THE LEFT NOW OR YOUR ALL GOING TO FUCKING DIE!"**_

The next thing Piers knew there was an explosion and he was knocked out from it as the chopper began to shake in the air. Without even realizing what was happening Piers opened up his eyes and he was back at the apartment he had been staying at. How long had he been wandering around? He went inside and looked at the time, it was almost midnight, he looked at a calendar and he had been gone almost two days. That's when he saw something glinting out of the corner of his eye, he looked on his bed and he saw something he couldn't believe.

"But… this one… I haven't seen it since…"

"Good to see it again, isn't it kid?"


	7. Chapter 7: New Life

Chapter 7: New Life

"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives." ~ Jackie Robinson

"Good to see it again isn't it kid?"

Piers whirled around to be greeted by a familiar yet shockingly disturbing face. Piers remembered this man all too well; he had seen him in his nightmares during his early days with Alpha. This man had also risked his life several times to keep Piers out of danger. This man was also the whole who stayed behind so that the rest of their team could escape from that hell hole of a city that they had been sent on a suicide mission into so long ago.

"V…. I…"

"At a loss for words now are we Nivans?"

"Umm…"

"Heh, not expecting to see me again so soon, or rather, recognize me so soon I should say?"

"W- What do you mean by *so soon*?"

"Really now Nivans, I almost feel hurt by that. You don't recognize me from six months ago when you tried to shimmy your way on over to the States?"

"What do you… you were the guard I was talking to?!"

"Now you're getting it Nivans." V gave him a reassuring smile while Piers was still simply looking at him with wide eyes mouth hanging open because he thought V had died over a year ago.

"But… you stayed behind… you…" Piers trailed off, he wanted to say _died_ but he couldn't because here he was, standing right in front of him, and they never actually _saw_ him die, they just saw him stay behind on his own.

"Yeah… well… let's just say that it was not the most pleasant experience I have ever had in life to be stuck in that hell hole."

"What happened?"

"Well, I mean I know you guys all saw what was happening with me because I saw the faces of everyone on that helicopter. I'm pretty sure you might not remember much of it because Chris told me you got knocked out when that rocket exploded."

Piers nodded at him. He remembered bits and pieces of what had happened; his memory was slightly fragmented of that day with the grenade blowing up, the shrapnel, and the blast from the rocket knocking him out all within the span of less than five minutes. There was no _way_ that could be good for his memory. Piers rubbed at the back of his head from nervousness, not really sure how to approach his next question.

"So… V… what exactly did happen…?"

V sighed, dreading it but he knew this was coming, "Well… it's kind of hard to explain… I mean yes I did drag you up the stairs and get you to the copter, you also did throw me your rifle after you realized I would not be coming along…"

Piers looked at him, "You know that's not what I am talking about. I am talking about when that thing came out of the building and you… changed…"

"Well, you remember how that first acid spitting B.O.W. you found that you were dumb enough to charge at?"

"Yeah."

"Well, what I can do in situations like that… I can spread that on to someone else, so long as they aren't dead but um… what you saw when it… roared… yeah, that was a side effect from doing that, meaning that I was quite literally holding myself together by threads. I can save other people so long as they aren't already dead, but I can also potentially kill myself in the process."

"Okay. So, what happened after we left?"

"Well as you already know I went full on at that fucker, I didn't manage to kill him before I saw a rocket flying at your guys' helicopter, and that is when I remembered the rifle you threw at me. I picked it up and shot that rocket out of the sky but unfortunately it was too close and all I managed to do was stop it from blowing you guys into pieces. After that I took it and finished off the thing that's been haunting me for a long time. It was already crippled on the account I broke its legs but it didn't last long after taking a shot from your rifle to the head. That is some pretty serious weaponry you have there Nivans, it came in pretty handy until I got the opportunity to give it back to you."

"So what happened exactly, why did you wait so long to come back?"

"Heh, do you remember me telling Chris not to have me labeled as *KIA*?" Piers nodded at him, "There was a good reason for that. He knew I would not be dead but nobody else on that team did, except you _might_ have had the slightest thought I could be alive, it took a while to get from where I was to you guys. Had a fun time trying to find my way over into Europe, had quite a blast if I say so myself shooting up those J'avo in Edonia though, but… I'm sorry I couldn't help with… you know."

Piers nodded at him. He remembered the horror of watching the last of Alpha Team besides he himself and Chris succumb to the C-Virus from that grenade that woman had thrown into the room. It still pained him to remember the expression on the new recruits face they had with them, he had only been a part of the team for two weeks and he hoped he would never forget the name on that kids gear, _*Finn McCauley_ *_. _He also remembered watching his Captain as he just froze there, watching his team turn into monsters, and as Finn came out and grabbed Chris and started pounding him into the wall.

"V?"

"Yeah, Nivans? What do ya need?"

"Why did you do so much to keep me alive?"

"Heh, I knew there was something about you that the Captain liked. I saw you guys grow a lot closer together throughout Edonia and China and I'm glad I got you out of there. Not a lot of people can keep Chris' head where it needs to be and stop him from dying every time he goes out on a mission Nivans, I'm sure you had your fair share of experiences like that eh?"

Piers couldn't help but blush and absently scratch at the back of his head. He knew what V was insinuating and he never realized that someone else might have actually known what was going on. Chris and Piers didn't do much throughout Edonia and China except stealing a kiss here or there when they had a free moment, Chris was just extremely hell-bent on capturing Ada Wong for what she did to his team. Really though, Piers had no reason to blame him, if he was the leader of Alpha he is pretty sure he would have been just as vindictive as Chris had been, maybe even more so to the point. Piers took a sigh and a deep breath, trying to prepare himself for what he would say next and hoped that he wouldn't die from a heart attack.

"V… could you show me… what it was that happened to you when that thing came onto the roof?"

V raised a skeptical eyebrow at him, "You sure you want to see that Nivans? I've gotten a lot more wounds since then and although it won't kill me to purposely do it, you probably won't like what you see."

"Yeah, yeah, I need to see what it had cost you to save my ass back there."

V nodded at him. A few moments later Piers noticed him changing slightly, although it started to speed up and Piers noticed what V had been talking about. He definitely had more scars than what had been present during their ill-fated mission. Aside from what Piers had suspected he had seen before, V had more scars and wounds lining in various places on his arms. He still recognized the spot on V's sh0ulder where he had once been hit with acid, it would still appear as a sinewy piece of muscle that had rotted away and burned beneath the acid, making V look all the more part of looking like a walking corpse. Then Piers noticed something that he had noticed before the helicopter had pulled away.

"What happened to your eye there, if you don't mind me asking you?"

V's hand went up to his face and Piers heard a growl from somewhere deep in his throat,

"That stupid bug got a swipe at me before I knew where it was. Got me clean down my face across my eye and I was able to just turn it into a scar before anything else happened. Now I know what you are going to ask since you didn't a few minutes ago. Yes, this will still be visible after I… _shift_ myself back so to speak, for a lack of better words. I keep that scarred eye and bad leg as a reminder of things I should have been more careful of back then. But don't worry; I can still force them better in a pinch if I really need to."

"Alright, and uh, wait, why are you here in the first place again?"

V gave him a genuinely amused laugh, "You didn't show up at the base a few days ago and Chris was getting worried. He sent me out to look for you and to be honest it wasn't that hard. It's easy for me to… how should I say… _track_ anyone infected with a virus. Didn't take me long to be able to find out where you have been staying. Figured you might want to see a friendly face hanging around and something you haven't had for a while, although I heard that you did get a new one before Edonia happened."

"Oh… did he uh… say anything else?"

V chuckled at him, "Oh, I don't know, maybe, I can't really seem to remember just yet."

Piers gave off a little needy sound, "C'mon, tell me if he said something! Please! You know I haven't really talked to you guys or anyone for that matter in months!"

V chuckled again and winked at Piers, "He said he needs his A.S.S. back where it belongs."

Piers blushed at that knowing all too well what the acronym meant but the embarrassment of it none the less truthful. He knew it was in good fun but couldn't help but blush even harder as V just continued to almost die of laughter while he was watching the sniper let it all go to his head.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry Nivans but he _DID_ say that! I'm being serious here! Don't worry I don't care but seriously though let's get you back there now huh?"

Piers was still rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment, "Uhhh yeah, I guess…"

"Great! Let's go I've got a car waiting downstairs."

They both hopped into the car and V was off. They weren't going _extremely_ fast but Piers could tell that V was pretty excited right now. They had a somewhat uneasy silence working its way into the car while some music was quietly playing.

"So…."

V raised his eyebrow while turning slightly to look at Piers, "So… what?"

"Umm… how have you guys been doing in the last six months…? I guess…."

"Well, it sure isn't as good as old times but we are doing better now. We have been getting a steady stream of new recruits and we are still fighting stuff off, a _lot_ of people were convinced of the threat the world is faced with by the viruses people come up with so it seems some of the braches of the B.S.A.A. can't even house all the recruits that want to join. You did a good thing back then, albeit it was freaking stupid, but it was a good thing. That act in itself, saving one of the best of the B.S.A.A.? Blowing that creature HAOS into bits? That spurred action into the world, everyone has been just completely and utterly flocking to join us it's amazing."

"Wow, all of that because I voluntarily infected myself…"

"Kid don't you even dare to think of it like that! Nobody thought you did it to become a monster! Hell, the head of every branch of the B.S.A.A. and the presidents of Edonia and China wished they could have congratulated you on everything you did! Everyone knew you did that on your own and that you could have been helped but stayed behind anyway out of your stupidly huge sense of duty!"

V put his hand on Piers' shoulder to comfort him and to _hopefully_ get the idea across that he was trying to be helpful right now. He offered Piers a smile that he half-heartedly returned. V realized he was probably making the kid uncomfortable with all the praise and the one _A.S.S. _comment he couldn't resist but put on the kid earlier.

"C'mon Nivans don't worry, everything is going to be back to normal before you know it. We'll be at the B.S.A.A. soon and I will take you to go meet up with Chris and we can catch up on old times alright? Really though Nivans, if you don't start coming out of that shell and talk more than me I am going to smack you out of it, and that was an order from your Captain buddy."

V gave Piers a playful push to the shoulder, "Alright I guess I could try, for the _Captain_ anyway." He finished that smirking at V to see what his reaction was.

V's only reaction was to look at Piers and give him a wink. They were nearing the B.S.A.A. complex now and V slowed down once he approached the guards that were on duty.

"I.D. and state your business please."

"Here's the I.D., as for my business, Mark you know what it is Chris had me leave out of here the other day what on earth do you think I could be doing rookie?"

Mark gave him a smile, "Sorry, sorry. Just kind of got into it you know? It feels good to be one of the guards out here when you are bringing one of the heroes back to us. So, you are Nivans correct? It's nice to see you again, I'm guessing you were the one who brought us the stuff the other day? Captain Redfield told us what you said about trying to mix the antibodies and those suppressors, it was a pretty good idea, a lot of people that were infected are responding to a mixture quite well. I am still pretty surprised that you just happened to find that underwater! I mean think of it, what else could have been hidden in that place? Maybe that creature was partly there to bust that thing into pieces as much as it was to be used to try and take over the world you know what I mean?"

"Mark, calm down man give the guy some breathing space already! He's got more important places to be at the moment than listening to you ramble on non-stop, and in case you forgot, I happen to be on a mission so I would _love_ to be able to finish it now."

Mark turned red with embarrassment, "Yeah, sorry about that. Go right on in. Captain Redfield is in his office."

They went on in past Mark and V parked the car as close as he could to the building. They took the path to the inside of the building and they soon found their selves on a course to Chris' office in the eastern wing of the building. When they went inside they found Chris sitting at his desk looking through files in his hands and skimming through reports on his laptop, he didn't even notice them when they came through the door.

V cleared his throat, "Sir, I think I might have someone that could tear you away from those recruitment files and reports for more than five second, don't you think?"

Chris looked up to where they were standing but he still couldn't see who V was talking about. When Chris raised an eyebrow at him V realized he was standing in the way of the very person he was talking about. He moved out of the way and Piers and Chris locked eyes for a brief moment before Chris got up quickly from his desk to walk over and greet them both properly.

"Holy shit you found him! I was beginning to worry when he was gone past the first day, and then you phoned me earlier today saying you saw him and just-" Chris took a breath for a moment to calm his erratic breathing and speech, "Shit, I'm just glad I've got you guys back for once. Here, I grabbed some food a little bit ago when you told me you guys were pretty close. I hope that it's okay, I wasn't really sure what to do other than just grab something figured you guys would be starving."

V and Piers both happily grabbed a meal and they sat down to start eating while they all lightly chatted for the next small while since they seemed to have a nice reprieve. Piers stole a glance at the Captain's desk to see what kind of recruits they had and he was amazed at the sheer number of recruits they had. V had not been kidding when he said they couldn't even house everyone that wanted to join the B.S.A.A. There seemed to be almost a hundred recruits just for the American Branch and that was only in the last _twenty-four_ _hours_.

"So, you boys ready to start getting the team back together again? Going down to help train some recruits tomorrow and would love it if you guys could come along to help me out down there, see who might fit in and who might need some help."

"Sure thing, Captain."

"Piers, come on now, no formalities around here haven't we all been through enough? I'm sure we're all comfortable enough to go by first names," Chris gave Piers a wink and he blushed, "Although… you might want to get a little more meat on your bones before we do any missions, you seem a little too scrawny now, Piers."

V cracked up laughing hard while Piers' face just flushed, "Come on now Papa Bear don't tease the kid! Piers don't worry Papa Bear here just wants his _A.S.S._ to get better, isn't that right Captain?"

Chris' face turned a few shades darker at being called *Papa Bear*, "I didn't say that… I just… ugh I won't ever be able to get something in with you guys around anymore will I?"

"Not when you make it that easy to mess with you Chris no you won't! Oh Nivans, I have a question for you."

"What is it?"

"What would you say to… the virus being gone?"

Piers had a look of confusion on his face and so did Chris, "What do you mean?"

"What do you think I mean? Show me your arm for a second."

Piers gave V the arm that he had injected the virus into, "OK, so don't freak out guys this should only take a second."

Piers wasn't sure as to what V really meant but he assumed it might be something along the lines of what he had done a long time ago, when he had shrapnel wounds from a grenade. V placed his hand on Piers' arm up towards his shoulder and Piers could feel a warm sensation in the area and it felt like something was _leaving_ his body. Piers and Chris both looked to V with a small shock of horror, they had seen it before and Piers recently saw it but it still didn't stop them from wanting to take a step back when they saw V briefly flicker to what he was without his wounds being patched up. As they watched, the discoloration left Piers' arm and face, and his eye that was a darker shade of a normal eye with being in a room and almost total darkness outside, returned to looking completely normal.

V had some sweat forming on his scalp, "Heh, don't ever say… I didn't do anything for ya… Nivans."

"V that was… amazing… I haven't ever seen you do that before…" Chris trailed off right here knowing that V could do it for himself but not anyone else.

"Heh… I did it for him… before… with the helicopter and the.. shrapnel wounds… at least this time it was just _really_ tiring rather than… um… you know… last time…"

Piers looked to V with the biggest grin he has ever had on his face, "V, really, I don't know how I could ever repay you for what you've done and I have never really said that much to you to begin with. I just can't express with words how much you've made everything better, from saving my ass back then to taking the virus out now to bringing our little family back together. It just feels like I've finally found my place once again after so long, you know?"

"Yeah I know Nivans, it's been a long road, and through it all I've finally come to terms with what happened almost three years ago now. But hey, the past is the past, we need to look to the future and contemplate the present am I right? All you need to do Piers is make sure Papa Bear here doesn't turn into a heap on the ground in the middle of a fire fight."

Chris clapped them both on the shoulders, "Alright guys it's really good to be back as a family again but what do you say we get some rest for tomorrow huh? Should be really interesting with the new recruits coming in, hopefully we can find some that will fit into our little dysfunctional family here."

V smirked at him, "Dysfunctional family huh? I never saw it like that but yeah I guess you could definitely call us *dysfunctional*, but yeah some sleep _really_ sounds good right now. You guys go ahead and take your room Chris, I'll sleep on the couch out here, and hopefully I'll get a better night's sleep for once in a few years…"

Chris smiled warmly at him, "You deserve it after everything you've done. C'mon Piers lets get some sleep, we got a big day tomorrow with all the new recruits."

Then all three of them slipped off to go to bed. V slept on the couch in the front room of Chris' office, and Piers and Chris both went into the room adjacent to the back of Chris' office that he would often use as a sleeping quarters for the late nights. He had been having a lot of long nights ever since Edonia and China, but maybe, just maybe, now they would turn around and he would be able to have early nights and late nights no longer filled with nightmares. Tomorrow might just be one interesting day with the recruits indeed.


	8. Chapter 8: New Beginnings

Chapter 8: New Beginnings

"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future." ~ John F. Kennedy

**_Note: Yes I know that this chapter is quite considerably shorter than the rest that I have written for this story. For that, I apologize but I felt that a shorter chapter to end this did it justice. It leaves it open considerably for imagination on how Alpha Team got along and what may have happened during their newest mission. If you guys did enjoy how I wrote this then have no fear! I will have a new one up soon titled "The Recruit" and it is another Resident Evil 6 story. Hope you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!_**

It was early in the morning when V, Chris, and Piers all started to get up and ready themselves for the day ahead. Finally, after six months, all three remaining members of Alpha Team are back together and still kicking strong. Through countless challenges Alpha Team has endured and in some cases even thrived, from near death experiences to the loss of teammates, there is still much ahead to see. Now, just maybe, Alpha Team can be rebuilt and continue fighting towards a better future.

Piers woke up earlier than everyone else. He walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. After showering he came out into the room so he could get dressed. Chris was still asleep. Piers walked over and stared into the face of the man he hadn't seen for so long. Piers had regretted sending that man off in the escape pod, seeing the hurt and betrayal on his face Piers couldn't even look at him and try to tell him why he had done it. Looking back on it Piers still knows there was no other way, that it had to be done, but he still could not imagine what would have happened to Chris if he had actually died down there, if he never managed to return to the world or, even worse, if he had turned insane and started killing everyone, only to be put down by the person he trusted most in the world. He stared into that face for a little longer, noting Chris' hair, his eyes, and the scruff on his chin. Piers made a silent vow right there to never scare is captain like that again, nothing that insane would be done again without at least explaining it to somebody first. He also noted the deep circles around Chris' eyes, no doubt from countless sleepless nights worrying over Piers and must have been having nightmares to continue where they had left off. Chris woke up after about another twenty minutes and looked at Piers, surprised that he was already awake and ready to go.

"Hey."

Piers gave him a smile, "Hey sleepy bear, how was your night?"

"Heh, my night was all the more better now that you're back. You don't know how many nightmares and worries I've had since that night, wondering if I would ever see you again."

"I know Chris, I know. I was wondering some of those same things myself after I killed Haos, I didn't know if I would ever see you again or if I would stay sane long enough."

"Piers, you had to be insane to even think about doing that, but I'm glad you did. It just feels so good to finally have you back again."

Chris stood up and gave Piers a hug, "I know, but I just felt like I had to stay away for a while, let all of that stuff from China die down a bit."

Chris sighed, "I wish you hadn't done that but it might have been for the best. The rest of the B.S.A.A. was going crazy trying to clean that place up and they might have shot you on sight if it had been anyone other than V.

Piers smirked, "Yeah, I guess so. Let's get you ready though, don't want to be late for a day with the new recruits now do we?"

"No we definitely do not."

Chris showered and they both waited a bit longer until they went out into the main part of Chris' office where V was waiting. Once they came in they saw V was already up and had them both breakfast already sitting and waiting. He eyed them both up and down and noticed that something had changed about them, a lot of the worry and fear he had been seeing recently was now gone and washed away from both of their shoulders like a waterfall just bursting through a dam.

"Got you guys breakfast. Didn't know what you wanted so I just grabbed some of the "all around" trays out of the cafeteria; hope it's good enough for you two."

"Anything to eat with Piers is good enough for me V."

Piers' face blushed a little but he still smiled warmly at Chris, "Yeah, anything with Chris is good. Although this is the best I've had in six months just barely scrounging by, I mean even in the U.S. it's still pretty hard to avoid you guys."

"That it is Nivans, but do you really think you were able to hide from me for six months? I feel insulted that you thought I let you get away from that airport so easily."

"Heh, heh, V let him be he probably never knew what you were capable of until just recently.

"Yeah, but still, I may not have been the most… _forthcoming_ person on the team but I still used my abilities when they were needed most."

"That you did V and thank you for that, I don't know if I would still be here with Chris if you hadn't."

"Oh don't worry about that Nivans, I would've done it no matter what. There was a lot left in that city that is buried now and I've moved on from it so let the past stay buried and let's dig up the future eh? We should probably get going anyhow; the recruits will probably be showing up anytime now."

Chris, Piers, and V all loaded up into the car V had used to bring Piers back the day before. They all chatted and joked around on their way down to the recruiting grounds of the B.S.A.A.

"Ok, so, V, you are going to start them off with rescue drills while me and Piers stand by to watch. Piers can take them through some sniping and recon drills while I can take them through front line combat drills. Sound good?"

"Sounds good Captain, should I refrain from showing them _why _I'm the one doing those drills?"

"Yes, unless they happen to get curious, the more they know the more they can do I always say."

"You've got that right Captain!"

"So, do I need to show recruits how the snipers cover everyone else, including your ass Papa Bear?"

Piers smirked and gave Chris that smile that he had been missing for six months. Looking back on it Chris remembered when he first saw Piers at a recruiting station. He had been the top of the recruits there in everything, especially marksmanship. He had been so quiet back then and really only ever talked to V, it wasn't until after that mission where V had stayed behind did Piers really start to come out and talk to everyone, getting them to work together.

"Now, now, Piers, they don't need to hear about _ALL_ the times you've had to cover my ass from getting shot. They might actually be more interested in hearing about how _**V**_ has managed to keep _both_ our asses alive."

"Heh, heh, oh I'm sure every single recruit would be interested to hear that story. Afraid a little bit maybe, but I'm sure they would love to listen on how I'm able to do all this stuff."

"Heh that they will be V. Just don't let them all in on too much now, got to keep some of that info just between us eh? Let them find the rest out on their own accord."

"Hey guys quiet now, here come the recruits."

Chris Piers and V had been waiting about five minutes now for the recruits to get here. There seemed to just be a few recruits that they would be handling, and that would make the drills all the more easy. All five recruits walked up to them and stood at attention, calling out their names.

"Rex Duval reporting for duty, Captain."

"Liz Smith reporting for duty, Captain."

"D. Chamberlain reporting, Sir."

"Jack del Mar reporting for duty Sir."

"Luis Fonza reporting for duty Sir."

"Alright then recruits. Let's get going, we're heading down to the rescue drill house to practice your efficiency in getting a friendly soldier out of danger."

They all started walking in the direction of the training grounds. The five new recruits hung back a bit, chatting among each other while Chris, Piers, and V took the lead, showing them where to go. When they all walked inside, Chris, Piers, and V were all suited up waiting for the recruits.

"Alright recruits, these drilling exercises are going to be run by V here. You follow his orders and he will make sure you know how to get another soldier out of harm's way."

One of the recruits, Jack, raised his hand, "Captain, can I ask why you are not the one conducting these drills?"

Chris, Piers, and V looked between each other and smirked. All three of them stepped forward together and eyed the recruits; a couple of them started feeling uncomfortable before Chris spoke up to them.

"V here is running these drills because he has saved more people than me and Nivans here have put together. He has done a lot on the field and he has faced a lot more than either I or Nivans have had to. He can show you what I mean, but a fair warning; don't be shocked when you see it."

This time, Rex was the one who spoke up, "What do you mean Sir? Surely it can't be that bad, I mean he isn't a walking corpse or anything like that, is he?"

V smirked while gesturing for Piers so he could get some help if he needed it, "Well recruit; you might say something like that…"

The recruits eyed V warily, not sure what to do. When he started changing Chris and Piers noticed the shock and horror written across their faces. A couple of them tried to hide it, but they were not doing very good at it. One of the recruits covered their eyes, and another one doubled over almost vomiting on the ground before V stood back up with Piers' help after he had to take a knee onto the ground to avoid from falling over.

"_That_, recruits, is why I'm running these rescue drills. As long as you don't do anything stupid in the field to get your freaking head shot off, you won't be dying while I'm on the job."

They went on with the rescue drills for an hour and a half. Liz and Luis being the best among the five recruits to execute saves and keeping the rest of their team from being *shot* to death by Chris, Piers, or V.

Next, they moved on to sniper training. Rex and D. seemed to be the best snipers and gunners of this rag tag group of recruits. They were able to snipe targets from several hundred meters away in a matter of seconds. Anytime one of the members needed cover however, they seemed to lack the concentration and attention to see more than just what is ahead of who they are watching.

The third and final round of drills, they instructed the recruits to work as a team and try to storm a building housing their three instructors. Their goal was to try and storm the building, capture the three inside, and without taking a single hit or casualty.

"Alright," said Luis, "Liz, D., you guys go around the back and storm the rear. Rex and Jack, you guys flank it. I'll take the front; keep a look out for any of them popping out of the windows."

"Gotcha, Luis. Let's do this thing guys!"

Slowly they fanned out. Liz and D. taking the back while Rex and Jack went in from the sides. Luis cautiously approached the front of the building, keeping a wary eye out in case V or Piers decided to try and snipe him from one of the upper floors. Luis heard the tell-tale signs of a flash grenade going off and the back door to the building being blown open, after a few short seconds of shooting Luis could hear Liz and D. talking through the communications radio, _"C'mon slow pokes! We already got Captain Redfield out of the game what are you guys waiting on?"_

"Calm your horses D. there is more to a fire fight than who has the momentary advantage." Rex responded into the radio.

The three recruits outside heard two gunshots go off simultaneously and then they heard Piers and V laughing into the comms.

"They should have listened to you when you told them that, nobody ever said once you got your target you wouldn't be able to be taken out by the rest. Bring it on, cadets."

"_Rex, Jack, head around the sides and we can converge on them at the same time."_

"_Gotcha Luis, see you guys on the inside."_

"_Jack, Luis, make sure to throw in a flash grenade before you go in so they won't see you coming."_

All three cadets threw flash grenades inside the building. When they went off they hurried inside but saw nobody there. Slowly they made up in the central part of the building by the stairs. Luis motioned to Jack and Rex to follow him up. When they reached the top floor they found Liz and D. standing in a room with a defeated look on their faces. Before they realized what happened, Luis Rex and Jack had all been pegged from behind.

"Don't let your guard down rookies. It isn't a good habit to keep for when you're going into a firefight." V winked at them.

"_**H.Q. to Alpha Team, do you read?"**_

"We read H.Q., what's going on?"

"We just received a report of a small group of people be chased by a group of B.O.W.s, we need you to head out and intercept them and find out what is going on."

"Copy H.Q. Alpha Team is heading out now."

Piers, V, and Chris looked to the cadets, "Well, it looks as if you guys are going to get your taste of war early. Suit up and let's roll out cadets. It's time to show the world that Alpha Team doesn't stay down forever."

"Sir yes Sir!" All five cadets shouted in unison saluting their superiors.


End file.
